Jury fails to reach verdict in trial against DiDi driver Temitope Solomon Adebayo
A Brisbane jury has failed to reach a verdict after a DiDi driver faced trial accused of raping a passenger.
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A jury has failed to reach a verdict after a DiDi driver faced trial last week accused of raping a passenger.
Throughout a three-day trial starting on June 4, payroll officer Temitope Solomon Adebayo, 33, faced allegations that he raped a rideshare passenger in April, 2022.
The prosecution alleged Mr Adebayo had raped an 18-year-old woman two days after allegedly pressuring her for her number throughout their initial meeting during a DiDi rideshare trip.
The Brisbane District Court heard Mr Adebayo had been working part-time as a DiDi driver on top of his work as a nursing assistant at the time.
He maintained throughout the trial that his sexual relations with the complainant had all been consensual.
Mr Adebayo told the jury that the woman had told him she “likes African guys” and asked him about his “body count’’ during their initial rideshare trip.
He said the complainant was an active participant when they had sex two days later, and that she “didn’t say stop”.
The jury also heard evidence from the complainant and from multiple family members who she had spoken with about the allegations.
The complainant’s evidence included that she had told Mr Adebayo to stop and pushed him away multiple times on the night in question.
Defence barrister Remy Kurz told the jury during closing submissions on Thursday, June 6, that the complainant’s actions were inconsistent with her evidence.
“She’s trying to rewrite history to suit her narrative,” Mr Kurz said.
He said she had made “desperate perhaps naive attempts” to explain her actions, and failed to recollect details with the same precision as his client.
“True victims can act in different ways … that does not mean the complainant gets a free pass, that the inconsistencies in her conduct can just be papered over,” Mr Kurz said.
Crown prosecutor Ken Spinaze said the complainant’s evidence was “honest and reliable” and that her demeanour was “genuine”.
“Yes there’s things where you and I wouldn’t put ourselves in that position – but we’re talking about someone who was 18 at the time,” he said.
The jury requested to watch the complainant’s evidence again during their deliberations on Friday.
But they still failed to reach a consensus, following further deliberations on Monday, June 10.
The jury was dismissed without verdict.
Mr Adebayo was granted a new bail undertaking, with reduced reporting requirements.
The new bail still restricted him from working as a rideshare driver and from contacting the complainant.
Mr Adebayo gave evidence on Wednesday June 5, the second day of his Brisbane District Court trial, which contrasted with his alleged victim’s version of events.
He had previously pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault, all alleged to have occurred on the same date in April, 2022.
Mr Adebayo told the jury he met the 18-year-old complainant when he drove her to meet up with a “friend” from Tinder.
He said the woman made conversation throughout the trip, which she had booked through the rideshare app DiDi.
Mr Adebayo said the woman told him she “likes African guys” and also asked him about his “body count”.
He said she had explained to him that body count meant the number of people with whom he had slept.
Mr Adebayo told the jury she also asked if he could pick her up later that night and that she asked for his number so that she could contact him.
He said she then immediately called him so that he would have her number as well.
Mr Adebayo said he called her the next morning.
He was concerned she had not reached out to him to pick her up, but he could not get through to her, he said.
He said he tried calling again after switching his phone to private mode and she picked up.
Mr Adebayo said they spoke over the phone about meeting up and she unblocked him.
They arranged for him to meet at her house, but had wanted to go somewhere else to talk.
Mr Adebayo said the woman had asked him who was at his house.
After he said he lived alone they agreed to go there, Mr Adebayo told the court.
His testimony, due to continue on Thursday morning, came after evidence from the prosecution alleging that he had pressured the woman for her number and drove her to his home against her expectations.
During the first day of the trial, on June 4, the prosecution alleged Mr Adebayo raped the woman despite her repeatedly pushing him away and telling him to stop.
The court heard the pair met just two days before the alleged assault when Mr Adebayo gave her a lift via the rideshare app DiDi.
Crown prosecutor Ken Spinaze told the jury in his opening submissions that Mr Adebayo asked the woman during the car journey to go out with him but she refused.
Mr Spinaze said Mr Adebayo persisted in asking for her number until she gave it to him.
He said the woman also accepted Mr Adebayo’s number but immediately blocked it.
The court heard the woman then received a number of calls from an unknown number in the days after the journey.
When she eventually answered, she recognised Mr Adebayo as the caller.
Mr Spinaze said Mr Adebayo raised an issue about her blocking the number so she unblocked him.
Mr Adebayo eventually asked to come and see her at her home and she agreed.
The court heard they also agreed to go for a drive to talk, but Mr Adebayo said he needed to pick up something from his house in Doolandella.
Mr Spinaze said the woman started to feel awkward about that stage.
Mr Adebayo went into his home before emerging, then asked the woman to come inside.
She did and the prosecution alleged Mr Adebayo then offered her alcohol and cannabis but she refused.
The jury heard that after speaking for some time, the woman asked if she could borrow a charger, and Mr Adebayo told her she would find one in the bedroom.
Mr Spinaze said Mr Adebayo followed her into the room and tried to kiss her.
The woman claimed she tried to move away but Mr Adebayo started touching her.
Mr Spinaze said the woman claimed she tried to push him away and told him to stop, multiple times.
According to the prosecution case, that was when Mr Adebayo pushed her on to the bed and sexually assaulted her before raping her.
Mr Spinaze said the woman continued to say “stop” and pushed Mr Adebayo away multiple times throughout the assault.
According to the prosecution, the woman had wanted to get a DiDi ride home.
But the jury heard Mr Adebayo insisted on driving her home once he sobered up in the morning.
Defence barrister Rémy Kurz said his client maintained everything that occurred had been consensual.
He asked the jury, during his opening submission, to carefully consider they consistency of the woman’s evidence.
Mr Kurz said the woman had not sent any texts asking for help on the drive to the house, or while Mr Adebayo was sleeping.
He reminded the jury that the woman had chosen to unblock Mr Adebayo’s number, chosen to meet with him and had chosen to go into his house and speak with him on the night in question.
“What the prosecutor just described to you … would be horrible if it were true,” he said.
“The truth is not always what it first appears.”
The jury was expected to hear prerecorded evidence from the woman, along with testimony from police officers and multiple family members with whom the woman discussed her allegations.
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