‘Pretty drunk’: Mates accused of raping woman after Valley bender

Two young Brisbane men are accused of raping the same woman, who one of them later told that they had been “pretty drunk” and “would have f**ked anyone” after their night out the Valley.

Charlie Tianma He, 22 of Runcorn, and Tyler Phillip Sullivan, 21 of Drewvale, are on trial in the Brisbane District Court for rape. Picture: John Gass

Two young Brisbane men are facing trial this week accused of raping the same woman, who one of them later told during a recorded phone call that they had been “pretty drunk” and “would have f**ked anyone” after their night out the Valley.

Charlie Tianma He, 22, and Tyler Phillip Sullivan, 21, have both pleaded not guilty to allegations of rape and sexual assault.

A jury was told on day one of their trial on Tuesday that the men were accused of raping a female acquaintance of theirs in July 2022.

The woman had had drinks with them in the Valley before accompanying them back to Mr He’s unit, where she engaged in consensual sex with another man, the court heard.

The jury heard the woman recollect, in a recorded phone conversation with Mr He, how she had woken up naked in the early hours of the following morning to Mr He and Mr Sullivan kissing her.

“I was literally like asleep on the bed and then I wake up to you doing s**t to me,” she said.

The woman claimed the two men, who the court heard both had girlfriends at the time, had begun touching her without consent.

The jury were told that Mr He and Mr Sullivan did not deny the sexual interactions, but both had pleaded not guilty on the basis that they had believed them to be consensual.

The court heard the defendants both maintained they had talked to the woman prior to the incident and had believed she was awake, aware who they were, and that she was consenting.

Tyler Phillip Sullivan (wearing sunglasses) at Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: John Gass

Crown prosecutor Michelle Parfitt told the jury during her opening statement that Mr He had digitally penetrated the woman but had then left the room when she pushed him away.

She said Mr Sullivan then continued to engage in oral and vaginal intercourse with the woman after Mr He left the room.

The court heard the woman had gone to police later the same day and participated in a recorded phone call with Mr He, and later Mr Sullivan.

During her conversation with Mr He, which was played to the jury, he could be heard telling the woman: “I think we were all pretty drunk”.

“You were like already naked so we were, I don’t know – That sounds really bad, I didn’t mean it like that,” Mr He told her.

“Tyler (Mr Sullivan) and I went out and had another 10 drinks so I think we would have f**ked anyone.”

“I’m not trying to be a d**k, I feel really bad about it.”

The woman replied that she was “just confused”.

“ … You’ve kinda traumatised me dude.”

Mr He replied he “thought (she) wanted it” and said she was “pretty drunk” and that she didn’t “really know what happened”.

He said she had grinded against him and pulled his hair in a way that made him believe she wanted to have sex.

“You’d had quite a bit to drink, that’s why I thought that you did like me – I was like damn she only likes me because she’s like really quite drunk.”

Mr He told her he had stopped as soon as she pushed him off.

“I’m sorry that you feel sad about it,” he told her.

“ … Clearly you didn’t have an issue with Tyler f**king you.”

“There’s an issue there too,” she responded.

“I need you to like know what you did was wrong.”

Mr He replied, “Okay well so in future if she’s just like f**king completely plastered, just leave it alone.”

The woman said she still didn’t think he realised how “uncomfortable” and “upset” she felt, and Mr He said he felt “really bad as well”.

“You know I’m not really that kind of guy,” he said.

“It’s so hard with chicks, you don’t know when they like really want you to do something.”

He later told her he “should have checked more thoroughly” and “shouldn’t have done it okay”.

“It’s really unfortunate how it happened but we’re not bad people,” he said.

Charlie Tianma He leaves Brisbane Supreme Court on October 22, 2024 Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

Later that same day, Mr He participated in an interview with police – which was played to the jury in court.

He told them the woman had been less intoxicated than him, and that he didn’t think she had been so drunk that she shouldn’t have been engaging in sex.

The court heard Mr He initially lied to police saying that he and Mr Sullivan had gone to a gas station for snacks while the woman had been having consensual sex with the other man.

He later admitted, during the same police interview, that he had “lied” and they had actually gone back out to the Valley “to find another chick”.

He told police during the interview that he had been ashamed to admit it because he had a girlfriend.

Mr He told police he had originally been concerned, when he started to kiss and touch the woman, that she may have thought he was the other man.

He said he had talked to the woman and asked her if she was okay, to which she had responded a “drunkenly harsh like ‘yeah’ – some sort of confirmation”.

Mr He later told them he was confident the woman had known it was him because he had talked to her about the fact the other man had left, prior to kissing her.

“It sounds so far-fetched, but I really mean it like I talked to her,” Mr He told police.

“She never really like opened her eyes, but I was talking to her and she did talk back to me.”

Tyler Phillip Sullivan hides from media as he enters Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: John Gass

The jury heard throughout day one of the trial that the woman said she sleep-talked at times.

But to find the defendants guilty, the jury would have to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the men had engaged in the sexual activities without having belief that she was consenting.

The jury heard Mr Sullivan say, during his recorded phone call with the woman, that he was “definitely not forcing anything”.

“You were obviously like grabbing me and kissing me … you didn’t say once like no or stop,” he said.

“But not once did I say yes,” the woman responded, in tears.

“From my point of view, it felt like I was getting raped.”

The woman asked if Mr Sullivan realised she had tried “moving (her) body to get (him) to stop” and he said he didn’t.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even realise,” he said.

Mr Sullivan has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault – one with a circumstance of aggravation.

Mr He has pleaded not guilty to one count each of rape and sexual assault.

The trial is expected to continue throughout the week.