Jury finds Brunswick Heads man Alessandro Trombin not guilty of raping woman in Byron Bay

A northern NSW man who denied raping a woman in Byron Bay has been found not guilty after a harrowing District Court trial.

Alessandro Trombin has been found not guilty of raping a woman in Byron Bay.

A Brunswick Heads man who was accused of raping a woman on New Year’s Eve in Byron Bay has been found not guilty after a harrowing trial.

Alessandro Trombin, 33, was on trial in Lismore District Court charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

Police alleged Mr Trombin had sex with the woman without her consent and knowing she was not consenting on January 1, 2021.

The week-long trial came to a quick conclusion after Judge Mark Buscombe excused the jury early on Thursday.

The jury returned with its not guilty verdict in just over an hour.

Alessandro Trombin (right) is let into Lismore Courthouse ahead of the not guilty verdict.

The court heard it was not disputed whether Mr Trombin and the complainant had sex, but the question was whether Mr Trombin had consent at the time.

The pair previously consumed alcohol and drugs and had consensual sex on two occasions, the court heard.

It was alleged during the trial the offending involved Mr Trombin knocking on the woman’s door, climbing into her bed and having sex while she was asleep.

It was further alleged that the complainant woke to find Mr Trombin having sex with her and she “just kind of gave up”.

Crown prosecutor Joshua Hanna told the court Mr Trombin “knew the complainant was not consenting and that he went ahead anyway”.

But defence barrister JP Watts argued his client was “a person of great honesty” and the complainant was unreliable.

“There are very real issues to truthfulness, accuracy, credibility, and reliability – how do you assess these things?” Mr Watts told the court.

The Railway Hotel, Byron Bay. Picture: Paul Riley

The prosecution told the court Mr Trombin said to the woman he was “a bad person” and “it would never happen again” after their encounter.

In text messages detailed to the court Mr Trombin said: “I am really sorry for what happened.”

But Mr Watts said most answers from the complainant could not be seen as reliable because she continuously answered “I don’t know” or “I can’t remember”.

He told the court of the woman’s alcohol and cocaine use.

Mr Watts said there were inconsistencies in the prosecutions case.

“Are you (so) satisfied she is honest and reliable that you can reject all evidence that he is a person of great honesty, according to his family, friends, and ex-girlfriend?” he said.

After the jury delivered its not guilty verdict, Judge Mark Buscombe offered his thanks.

“It‘s no easy task being drawn at random from the community to come and sit on a trial like this,” he said.

“Trial by jury is fundamental to our criminal justice system.

“It has its supporters, has its detractors, but from where I sit one great virtue of it is it involves the community in the administration of criminal justice in our society.”

He said there was no perfect system in the world, but the Australian justice system was about as good as it gets.