A well-connected Melbourne man has been found guilty of raping a former employee after a three-week trial in the County Court of Victoria. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, to which he pleaded not guilty. The jury delivered the verdict on Tuesday following deliberations that began late on Friday morning.
The assault occurred in March 2023 at a friend's home, where the victim, his former personal assistant, had been drinking and taking cocaine with the accused. The court heard that the man tried to kiss and sexually assault her, and when she pushed him away and said 'I don't want this', he made comments such as 'You're so sexy' and 'I need this'. The woman punched him in the face, breaking his nose, and then left the room to text her mother, who called the police.
The judge, Frank Gucciardo, thanked the jury for their commitment, praising the jury system as 'the best system we have' for determining such cases. The man's bail was revoked immediately, and he was taken into custody pending sentencing at a later date. The prosecutor, Matthew Fisher, argued that inconsistencies in the woman's evidence actually proved her credibility, as it showed she had not fabricated the story.
However, the defence barrister, Dermot Dann KC, described the prosecution's argument as a 'desperate submission', claiming the jury was asked to accept a 'horrible mixture of lies, fabrications, and inconsistencies'. The defence maintained that no sexual contact occurred, so the case was not about consent. The woman gave evidence over four days, while the accused did not testify.
Character evidence was provided by two friends of the accused, a former colleague, and a barrister who served with him on a board of a prominent Melbourne organisation. The court also heard testimony from friends of both parties who saw them together before the assault. The woman, reluctant to involve police, was persuaded by her mother to call them, and a 35-minute conversation with officers was recorded on body-worn camera and shown to the jury.
