Jacob Groucott: Browns Plains man found not guilty of rape

A Logan carpenter has been found not guilty of raping a woman in February 2017, with a jury taking just one hour to reach its verdict.

UPDATE: A Logan tradie has been found not guilty of raping his “friend with benefits” in February 2017 after a mammoth three-day trial in the Beenleigh District Court.

The jury of nine women and three men took just over an hour to reach its verdict, which saw Browns Plains carpenter Jacob William Groucott, 25, cleared of wrongdoing.

Defence counsel Russell Pearce was ultimately able to persuade the jury there remained too many unanswered questions and inconsistenties in the Crown case to be able to put the allegation beyond reasonable doubt.

Chief among these included three deleted messages between Mr Groucott and the woman; a message sent from the woman to Mr Groucott in the aftermath of the night in question which corroborated his account that their fight was about him “using her” for sex, rather than a sexual act itself; and the woman’s changing story.

This last aspect included inconsistencies in her claims about where Mr Groucott ejaculated on the night in question; what she told different friends when; and whether the rape complaint began with an attempt to seek a domestic violence order or not.

Mr Pearce told the court some of the woman’s claims against Mr Groucott were “codswallop”.

EARLIER 04/02 AM: A young Logan carpenter confronted by his alleged rape victim in a pretext call said he “honestly thought you were joking” when she repeatedly told him she did not want to have sex that night, a court has heard.

Browns Plains man Jacob William Groucott, 25, is on trial in Beenleigh District Court for one count of rape, allegedly committed against his “friend with benefits” on February 21, 2017, after she picked him up from touch football.

The alleged rape victim of Browns Plains carpenter Jacob William Groucott, 25. Picture: Facebook

On Wednesday, the second day of the trial, the jury was played 20 minutes of a pretext call between Mr Groucott and his alleged victim, where he repeatedly told the woman her allegations were “making me upset”, “this is the worst thing ever” and “this f****** sucks”.

“I honestly thought you were joking,” Mr Groucott told his alleged victim in response to her pressing him on whether she had said ‘no’ to him repeatedly.

“You know I’m harmless,” he said.

“I honestly didn’t do nothing.”

Towards the end of the pretext call, Mr Groucott repeatedly requests to meet up with the woman, who responded by saying she “didn’t feel comfortable” meeting him.

Earlier, the woman told Mr Groucott how his alleged actions had affected her.

“I cannot sleep up that end of my bed because of what you did to me,” she said.

“I am traumatized from what you did.

“I have nightmares.”

The jury was also played Mr Groucott’s record of interview with police.

In it, Mr Groucott claimed he and his alleged victim did not have sex the night in question, and her assertions of ‘no’ related to repeated requests he made to have sex with her.

The trial continues today, with the prosecution and defence issuing their closing statements before the jury retires to consider their verdict.

The jury will retire on Thursday afternoon to consider its verdict.

EARLIER 03/02: A young Logan man is on trial in the District Court for allegedly raping his “friend with benefits” at her residence after she picked him up from touch football.

Browns Plains man Jacob William Groucott, 25, has pleaded not guilty to the single charge of rape.

Beenleigh District Court on Tuesday heard the alleged rape occurred on the evening of February 21, 2017 at a Hillcrest residence.

Crown prosecutor Zachary Kaplan told the court Mr Groucott and his alleged victim were in a “consensual friends with benefits” arrangement which had commenced earlier that month after they began messaging.

Browns Plains man Jacob William Groucott, 25. Picture: Alex Treacy

The pair were “slightly known” to each other through friends of friends, he said.

“There was an agreement (the alleged victim) would pick Jacob up from touch footy and go back to her house.

“She made it perfectly clear, ‘Tonight, we are not having sex’.

“When inside the house, they went to the bedroom, things started to get handsy.

“Jacob made a move to have sex and (the victim) reaffirmed her position.

“Then there was penetration without consent.”

Mr Kaplan told the court the alleged victim told Mr Groucott “no” and to “stop” during the alleged rape.

The jury will hear from six witnesses: the alleged victim; four of her friends with whom she made “preliminary complaints” to, which is admissible as evidence; and the investigating police officer.

The jury will also hear details about a pre-text phone call made between the alleged victim and Mr Groucott, as well as messages exchanged between the pair.

The alleged victim’s evidence, which was prerecorded and went for about two-and-a-half hours, was heard in closed court.

All five witnesses will be cross-examined, while Mr Groucott’s formal interview with police, recorded in July 2017, will also be played to the jury, which consists of nine women and three men.

The trial continues today.

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