Young men not guilty of raping female friend after night out

Two young men have been found not guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a female friend, acquitted of all charges by a jury following two days of deliberations.

Charlie Tianma He outside court. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Two men have been found not guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a female friend, acquitted of all charges by a jury following two days of deliberations.

The Brisbane District Court trial of Charlie Tianma He, 22 of Runcorn, and Tyler Phillip Sullivan, 21 of Drewvale, ended late on Monday – the fifth day – with the jury’s verdicts.

Both men had pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges on the basis that they had believed the woman to have been consenting.

The jury found Mr Sullivan not guilty of two counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault, while Mr He was found not guilty of one count each of rape and sexual assault.

Upon hearing the verdicts on Monday afternoon, Mr He threw his head back and closed his eyes in relief in the dock, while Mr Sullivan’s relief was such that he cried in the court’s dock.

Both men’s family and supporters were emotional, with gasps of relief and tears shed in the courtroom upon hearing the verdicts, and when the two men were officially discharged and walked free from the dock and out of the courtroom.

The Crown case previously alleged Mr He and Mr Sullivan raped a woman known to them after a night out drinking in Fortitude Valley.

The jury heard that the woman had accompanied the defendants back to Mr He’s unit on a night in July 2022, and engaged in consensual sex with another man.

After the other man left, it was alleged the two defendants both engaged in sexual acts with the woman without her consent.

Tyler Phillip Sullivan. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Mr Sullivan’s defence barrister Kim Bryson told the jury in her final submissions that this was “a case of regret” rather than rape.

“They [Mr Sullivan and the complainant] were friends who had a consensual sexual encounter after a night out,” she said.

“Later that morning – perhaps because she was embarrassed about her decisions, concerned about gossip, or told so by her sister – she has convinced herself that she was raped.”

Ms Bryson reiterated to the jury that the complainant “claimed to have no memory of some critical aspects of the events, but then at other times had very specific recollections”.

She also said that the complainant’s actions – in the version of events given by her client – could be interpreted as consent.

“It is true that [the complainant] did not utter the words ‘I want to have sex with you Tyler’ but that does not mean she was not consenting by her actions,” Ms Bryson said.

“He was entitled to take her actions of kissing him and having his penis in her mouth for about a minute, into account when forming the belief that she was consenting.”

Mr He’s defence barrister Angus Edwards KC also alluded to the complainant’s struggle to remember parts of the incident, during his closing arguments to the jury last week.

“When she is sure something did not happen, she is perfectly comfortable saying ‘that did not happen’. But with everything to do with Charlie He it was ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t remember’,” Mr Edwards told the court.

Mr Edwards pointed to details given by Mr He in his version of events that he brought the woman a bottle of water, she sat up and drank it, and spoke to him.

“Who sits up and drinks water in their sleep?” he posed to the jury, referring to the complainant’s testimony that she can sleep-talk.

Ultimately, Mr Edwards said as soon as the complainant pushed Mr He away when he was touching her, he left the room.

“The minute she made it apparent she wasn’t consenting, he stopped. That is hardly the actions of a rapist intent on sexually assaulting someone,” he said.