Cory Millar-Powell: Trial of budding lawyer who allegedly raped woman begins
The trial of a budding lawyer accused of raping a woman following a museum date has begun with a jury hearing he allegedly forced himself on her, saying ‘I know you want this’.
Penrith
Don't miss out on the headlines from Penrith. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- The taunt that made garbo stab co-worker in face, neck nine times
- COVID: Jobless rate doubles in southeast Sydney
A former western Sydney man and budding lawyer has denied forcing a woman onto a bed before telling her “I know you want this” and sexually assaulting her eight years ago, a court has heard.
Cory David Millar-Powell, 27, previously employed by the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office as a litigation paralegal, fronted the NSW District Court on Tuesday for the first day of his trial.
The former Penrith school student has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent which relates to an incident in April 2012 at Redfern.
Crown prosecutor Daniel Waldmann told the jury that Millar-Powell – who was 19 at the time of the incident – allegedly pushed a 17-year-old girl onto a bed after the pair had visited an art museum and gone out for lunch together in Sydney’s CBD.
“While inside his brother’s home (in Redfern) he pulled her into a bedroom where he pushed her onto a chair before pushing the chair onto a mattress,” he said.
“The accused told the victim something to the effect of ‘I know you want this’.”
Mr Waldmann alleged while Millar-Powell was on top of the victim she said “no I don’t want that” and tried to reach for her bag and phone which he allegedly moved away.
The Crown prosecutor alleged he made a hole in her stockings and penetrated her with his finger or fingers before the assault finished.
The Crown prosecutor also alleged the victim met with Millar-Powell that day on the understanding another person was going to hang out with them.
He alleged she entered the Redfern home because Millar-Powell told her he needed to pick something up from his brother’s house.
Millar-Powell’s defence lawyer Simon Buchen told the jury there was a serious dispute about what happened inside the bedroom that day.
“(She) was not forced into the bedroom. Was not flicked onto the bed. There was foreplay on the bed … and the accused agrees that he did rub her genital area for a time.”
However, he said Millar-Powell did not push his hand down her stockings or penetrate her with his finger or fingers.
“He honestly believed that (she) was consenting to all the acts that occurred on the bed between the two.”
He said the pair walked to the train station afterwards and both travelled to western Sydney.
He also told the jury that there would be a significant dispute about what should be made of a recorded phone call in 2019, monitored by police, where the alleged victim called Millar-Powell and spoke about the incident.
“It is the defence case that he was not admitting in that call that he committed any offence whatsoever.”
Millar-Powell was employed in March 2019 by the Crown Solicitor’s Office as a litigation paralegal, according to his LinkedIn page. That contract has since ended.
The trial is continuing and expected to run for a week.