A man from a high-profile Melbourne family has been found guilty of digitally raping a woman while pretending to be her boyfriend. The verdict was delivered by a jury in the Victorian County Court on Friday after less than two days of deliberations.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had denied two charges of rape and stood trial. The court heard that on 14 January 2024, the woman had consensual sex with her boyfriend at the man's home before the boyfriend left via Uber around 2am. The offender then told the woman her boyfriend's Uber had been cancelled and that he would return upstairs.
Instead, the offender entered the dark bedroom and pretended to be the boyfriend, digitally raping the woman twice. In the days following, he altered an Uber receipt to suggest the boyfriend had left after 2.30am, but admitted to forging it, claiming he panicked after being falsely accused.
Crown prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams told the jury the man told a series of lies to deflect blame, urging them to believe the victim's clear and consistent evidence. Defence barrister David Hallowes SC argued his client was truthful and suggested the woman's mind may have played tricks on her.
The jury of 12 returned guilty verdicts shortly after midday on Friday. The man slumped in his seat with his head in his hands as the verdicts were read, while his mother cried in court.
