Joe Tauiliili, Glenn Robinson, Josateki Setuata rape trial continues

Facebook messages have revealed how two former army men accused of a gang rape on Anzac Day reacted when a former colleague warned them they were under investigation.

Glenn Robinson (left) and Josateki Setuata (right) at Sydney West Trial Courts.

Two of three former army men accused of gang raping a woman on Anzac Day 2021 were tipped off about a police investigation by a former military colleague who worked at the Sydney nightclub where they met the complainant, a court has heard.

Ex-Australian Army members Joe Tauiliili, Glenn Robinson and Josateki Setuata have been charged with various offences over the alleged sexual assault of a woman they met at The Fiddler in Rouse Hill on April 24 2021.

The woman has alleged the trio repeatedly sexually assaulted her while she was significantly intoxicated, she was choked with a belt and a tampon was forced inside her so hard during the alleged assault it had to be removed by a doctor.

All three men have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and are defending the charges at trial at Parramatta District Court.

Tauiliili and Robinson have both acknowledged having sexual encounters with the woman but insist they were consensual.

Setuata denies having any sexual contact with the woman whatsoever, claiming he was passed out on his couch at his Riverstone residence where the incident occurred.

Glenn Robinson (right) at Sydney West Trial Courts in May 2023.

On May 16, the court heard evidence from a man who met Tauiliili and Setuata during their postings at the Singleton Military Area in 2017 and was working as a security guard at The Fiddler on the night the three defendants met the woman.

CCTV footage played in court shows the security guard talking and laughing with the three men while the woman stands close by.

The footage also shows Setuata hugging the woman before he briefly picks her up, with her legs wrapped around his waist.

Josateki Setuata (left) at Sydney West Trial Courts in May 2023.

When the security guard learned his former colleagues were under investigation because police had asked for the venue’s CCTV, the court heard he had messaged both Tauiliili and Setuata on Facebook.

“Bro, you’re in deep s--t, what happened that night," the security guard messaged Setuata.

“Bro I’ve heard, did cops come to you? … nothing happened, that girl jumped into the Uber … the other two boys put her on the spit, I only woke back up when she was trying to leave,” Setuata responded.

The security guard also messaged Tauiliili, who responded “f--k, I told them to f--k her off” with what Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles described as a “face palm” emoji.

The court heard the security guard was well enough acquainted with Tauiliili and Setuata to be friends on Facebook, though they had not seen each other for roughly four years, but he did not know Robinson, who he referred to as “the caucasian male” or “old mate”.

The trial continues before Judge Lara Gallagher.