A high-profile Melbourne man was called a rapist and punched in the face by his former personal assistant shortly after he allegedly raped her at his home, a Victorian court has heard. The man, who cannot be named, faces two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in Victoria's county court and has pleaded not guilty.
Alleged incident details
Prosecutor Matthew Fisher told the court that the alleged offences occurred in March 2023 after the woman said she spent an evening drinking and taking cocaine with the man while listening to music and watching football at his friend's home. At the end of the night, the woman was at the man's house when he tried to kiss her and sexually assaulted her. She pushed his hands away and told him “I don’t want this”, to which he responded “you’re so sexy”, “I can’t sleep, help me” and “I need this”.
The woman then felt the man rape her twice, Fisher told the court. “She turned around to face him, and at that point she punched him with her fist to his face, to his nose,” Fisher said. “He grabbed his face and said words to the effect of ‘you’ve broken my nose’. She got out of bed and said to him ‘you’re a fucking rapist’.”
Aftermath and police involvement
Fisher said that the man started saying that he shouldn’t have drunk, that his nose was “fucked” and “why did I do this”, to which she responded “shut the fuck up, you’ve just done this to me, you’re a rapist”. The woman went to another room and took notes on her phone, then texted her mother, who called the police despite her daughter’s reluctance. Police arrived shortly after an officer called the woman about 3am on 24 March 2023. The officer and two others spoke to the woman, with one recording the 35-minute exchange on a body-worn camera, which was expected to be shown to the jury.
Defence challenges credibility
The man’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, told the trial that the alleged victim had “massive issues” in relation to her credibility and reliability, including having previously made false allegations against police. Dann said the woman claimed she continued to stay in the house after the alleged rapes and sexual assault and was reluctant to contact authorities because of that prior false allegation. He also noted that she raised the issue of “recompense” with her mother while still at the accused’s house. “As the mother is trying to persuade the daughter to leave the premises, the company of the man who has allegedly raped her a number of times, [the complainant] doesn’t want to do that,” Dann said. “[She] sends back messages talking about recompense and trying to resolve things and negotiate.”
Dann argued that much of her account was in dispute, including previous advances the man allegedly made, and that he was consuming cocaine on the night. “There is a massive issue in relation to [her] credibility,” Dann said. “A massive issue in respect to reliability. Massive issue in respect to consistency. Massive issue in respect to plausibility.”
Background and trial progress
The woman had worked for several months as the man’s personal assistant the previous year, and they resumed contact to discuss other employment opportunities when he invited her to his property. Fisher said the woman was expected to give evidence that the man previously made sexual advances, but she made clear she was not attracted to him. “If I let you do this, if I let you fuck me, you will never respect me as your employee,” she said she told him after one such advance. The woman was expected to give evidence before a closed court on Wednesday afternoon. The trial continues.
