‘Complicated love triangle’ claims in Fortitude Valley rape trial

Two Queensland men standing trial accused of raping a man in their Fortitude Valley apartment will argue the sex was consensual and it was a “complicated love triangle”, a court has heard.

The Fortitude Valley Police Station.

WARNING – EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT

Two Queensland men standing trial accused of raping a man in their Fortitude Valley apartment will argue the sex was consensual and it was a “complicated love triangle”, a court has heard.

On the first day of their trial in the Brisbane District Court on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Emily Coley submitted that Geoffrey Nigel Abbott had raped the man, without the man knowing at the time that it was Abbott having sex with him.

“This is not your typical case of rape,” Ms Coley told the jury sitting in the trial before Judge Carl Heaton KC, on Tuesday in her opening address.

“There are three people involved, there are two defendants,” she said.

Mr Abbott’s flatmate and on-again off-again partner Jose Eduardo Batres Vela has also pleaded not guilty to rape, as he is alleged to be criminally liable for aiding or enabling Mr Abbott in the penetration of the man in March 2022.

“Mr Batres Vela and Mr X were having consensual sex, that involved Mr Batres Vela penetrating Mr X’s anus with his penis,” Ms Coley told the jury.

“And that was consensual between the two of them,” she said.

“Now in the course of that occurring, Mr Abbot arrived back at the apartment, he came into the bedroom, where Mr X and Mr Batres Vela were having sex.

“And Mr Batres Vela stepped away from Mr X and removed his penis, and Mr Abbott then penetrated Mr X with his own penis.

“Now the prosecution case is that Mr X did not know that Mr Abbott had entered the bedroom, he did not know that Mr Abbott was going to penetrate his anus with Mr Abbott’s penis.

“And he only realised that it was Mr Abbott when he felt what to his mind was a different penis than that of Mr Batres Vela,” Ms Coley said.

But Craig Eberhardt, counsel for Mr Abbott, told the jury in his brief opening address that Mr X was consenting to the sex that night.

“In this complicated love triangle Mr X was the person who was scorned,” Mr Eberhardt said.

Barrister Penelope White, for Mr Batres Vela, also told the jury that her client had consensual sex intercourse that night.

“There was an understanding between them that a third person Mr Abbott would join them and Mr X agreed to that and wanted that to occur and you will hear evidence of those conversations I expect,” Ms White told the jury.

Ms Coley said in her address to the jury that Mr X would testify that Mr Abbott and Mr Batres Vela had been in a relationship at some point but that it had ended and they remained living together.

But Mr Batres Vela later told police that he and Mr Abbott were still in a relationship, albeit an open one.

Ms Coley told the jury, summarising what Mr X would later tell them in evidence, that he was on the bed in Mr Batres Vela’s room facing towards a window covered by a curtain and away from the door that led out into the apartment itself when he had sex with Mr Batres Vela, who was standing behind him.

“Mr X will tell u that at some point Mr Batres Vela removed his penis from his anus.

“He will tell you that Mr Batres Vela said something like “just one minute” to him, and that Mr X stayed in the same position, on the bed facing towards the curtains.

“You will hear from him that there was music playing, that the lights were off in the bedroom but there were lights on in the apartment itself so it was not completely pitch black.

“So he will tell you that he felt someone penetrating his anus with their penis or trying to at first, and that it felt different, and that he started to pull away a little bit.

“And then that person tried a second time, and did in fact penetrate his anus that second time, and he felt the clear difference between the person who was penetrating him that time and Mr Batres Vela’s penis, what that felt like.

“He tried to pull himself away, he looked around to the side, he could see Mr Batres Vela off to the side, so not behind him, and then as he looked around a little bit further he saw Mr Abbott leaving the room and Mr Abbott was naked.

“Now Mr X will tell you that he did not know it was Mr Abbott until he turned around and saw him, and that he did not consent to Mr Abbott penetrating him with his penis.

“After Mr Abbott left the room, Mr X, you will hear, had a conversation with Mr Batres Vela.

“He was quite emotional and quite upset. And he will tell you that he said a number of things to Mr Batres Vela, including that he was degraded and that he wanted to leave.

“He told Mr Batres Vela he was going to leave. Mr Abbott came back downstairs and agreed it was time for Mr X to leave.

“Mr X will tell you he continued to effectively ‘tell off’ Mr Batres Vela and then he left the apartment.

“You will see a small amount of CCTV from apartment complex from where Mr Batres Vela and Mr Abbott live.

“You will see Mr X and Mr Batres Vela talking for couple of minutes before Mr X lives.

“Mr X started walking to the Fortitude Valley police station, while he was walking he sends text messages to Mr Batres Vela raising with him what just happened.

“You will see those text messages

“Mr X also sent text messages to two of his friends, he told them what had happened, you will see that message.

Mr X then complained at Fortitude Valley police station.

Mr Batres Vela later told police that Mr X said “yes” when he asked Mr X “you wanna try another one”, or “do you want to have another one” and that meant do you want someone else to join in.

Mr Batres Vela told police that Mr X “became upset” on the night of the incident when Mr X wanted to continue having a threesome with Mr Abbott involved but Mr Abbott did not want that.

Mr Abbott later told police that he joined in the threesome after arriving home late from a trip to Adelaide.

Mr Abbott said he said “hi” and Mr X said “I’m Mr X”, then Mr Abbott penetrated Mr X for less than a minute.

Mr Abbott said that as he was doing this Mr Batres Vela came around and tried to penetrate Mr Abbott, he was not interested in that he said because he had been at work all day and Mr Abbott stopped and got up to go.

Mr Abbott claimed Mr X and Mr Batres Vela wanted him to continue but he did not want to.

The court was closed for the hearing of Mr X’s evidence.