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A high-profile Melbourne businessman has been found guilty of raping a 27-year-old personal assistant.
The man, who cannot be named due to a suppression order preventing his identity from being released, had been on trial for rape and sexual assault in the County Court of Victoria since July 8.
The prosecution had alleged the much older man had offered the young woman work, including on his autobiography, when she attended his “larger than life” converted warehouse to discuss the role.
It was alleged that after a night of drinking and consuming cocaine the man raped the woman.
Defence barrister Dermot Dann, KC, maintained his client was innocent and urged the jury to find the complainant was an unreliable witness who had a financial motive to lie.
“She’s like a fiction writer,” Dann said.
“She was telling [the accused man] this night that she loved him for his spirit.
“What the prosecution has served up to you is a horrible mixture of lies, fabrications, recent inventions, inconsistencies and evidence that had been proved to be demonstrably false.
“This case is a powerful demonstration that there are cases when complainants make false evidence, false statements. This is one of those cases.”
However on Tuesday, a jury of nine women and three men rejected the defence argument and found the man guilty after three days of deliberations. The accused had pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault and two counts of rape.
The rapist was immediately taken into custody with the prosecution applying to revoke his bail minutes after the three guilty verdicts were returned because of the likelihood the man would ultimately be sentenced to an immediate term of imprisonment.
During the trial, the court heard the pair met in 2022 after the woman contacted him to express interest in working for him while she studied.
While the job was initially unavailable, when it opened up the student was told she could help work on projects including his autobiography and a film script.
Prosecutor Matthew Fisher said an Uber was sent to collect the woman and bring her to the man’s house to discuss the employment position.
But, when she arrived he attempted to kiss her, prompting her to reply, “If I let you do this, if I let you f— me, you’ll never respect me as your employee. I don’t want that to be the role I play in your life. I’ll never want to have sex with you.”
The woman quit months later before reconnecting with the man in March 2023 when she was again offered work on his book.
When she visited the man’s home to discuss the project days later, the jury were told the two allegedly consumed wine and cocaine and watched television at an associate’s home in South Melbourne.
On their return to his home, the prosecution alleges the woman began to cry and speak of the breakdown of a recent relationship when the accused man pulled her from a lounge and onto his bed, telling her he’d take care of her.
“You’re so sexy, I can’t stop, I need your help to sleep, help me, I need to,” he allegedly said.
The woman, who gave evidence for more than a week, said she was then raped before she punched the man in the nose and was told to leave.
The woman went to a spare room where she texted her mother, who called the police.
The man will face a plea hearing at a later date.
Last month, this masthead revealed that almost 500 suppression orders in various forms were issued in Victorian courts last year, with the highest number being issued on safety grounds, including for mental health reasons.
Of those suppression orders granted, 247 were made in the County Court.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732.
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