By I. Hansana, Jadetimes News
A high profile Sydney man is facing trial for allegedly raping five women, including a 19 year old intern at his home, as the court heard on Tuesday. Due to a suppression order, the man cannot be named. He has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges spanning a six year period, involving six different women.
The charges include six counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault, one count of threatening to distribute an intimate video, and an act of indecency where he allegedly "rubbed his penis" while propositioning an 18 year old woman.
The trial, scheduled for 10 weeks, commenced at the Sydney Downing Centre District Court with prosecutor Adrian Robertson outlining the case. Robertson argued that the accused exhibited a pattern of behavior, engaging in sexual conduct with younger women, often without their consent, or being reckless to their lack of consent.
The court was told that the 19 year old woman ended her internship early after the alleged rape. Robertson also detailed another incident where the man allegedly raped a 19 year old woman in her home after grabbing her throat and spitting in her face. This woman had previously visited the man's home with a friend, where she claimed he was smoking ice and later tried to initiate sexual contact with her while she slept in a spare bedroom.
Robertson further stated that three of the alleged rapes occurred after the man had previously had consensual sex with the women. One woman, who was 19 at the time, initially engaged in consensual sex with the man when she visited his home to discuss an internship. She alleges that he raped her a year later when she stayed in his spare bedroom.
The court was also shown text messages from 2018, where one of the women told the man he should have acknowledged the power imbalance between them and accused him of ignoring her pain during the alleged rape. The man responded with an apology, stating, "I wish I could take it back." In another message, the woman informed the man that she had contacted the police but offered not to proceed if he sought rehabilitation.
The defense, led by David Scully SC, argued that the sexual encounters with the five women were consensual and that one woman’s allegations of indecent assault were entirely false. Scully stated that the women admired the accused, which influenced the context of the sexual encounters. He also denied the man threatened to distribute any videos, claiming that the recordings were made with the woman’s full knowledge.
