Accused rapist Gregory Challenger takes witness stand to deny involvement in 1986 Lorne attack

A man accused of brutally raping a woman on a Lorne beach more than three decades ago claims he was at a men’s club in Geelong at the time of the incident.

Gregory Challenger leaves Geelong court.

A MAN accused of brutally raping a woman on a Lorne beach more than three decades ago claims he was at a men’s club in Geelong at the time of the incident.

Gregory Challenger took the rare step of taking to the witness stand in his own trial on Thursday on allegations stemming from the early hours of New Year’s Day in 1986.

Prosecutors allege Mr Challenger — who was 23 at the time — was with a group of men when he surrounded a 21-year-old woman and ripped her clothes off, before orally raping her.

The Bannockburn man has been charged with three counts of aggravated rape and one count of attempted aggravated rape.

Mr Challenger, now 56, told the County Court yesterday he was working as a bar manager at a men’s club in South Geelong when the incident took place.

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The court heard two men would be called to give evidence on Monday to corroborate Mr Challenger’s claim.

Before giving his testimony, the jury was played audio that was secretly recorded by police as they arrested Mr Challenger at a house in Bell Post Hill in March 2016.

A bewildered Mr Challenger — who had never been a suspect until a DNA match in 2015 — could be heard expressing shock when a detective told him he was being arrested for the rape and abduction of a woman 30 years earlier.

“F---ing what?” Mr Challenger said. “What the f---? What? You’re kidding me.”

The audio, which lasted about 20 minutes, also captured Mr Challenger denying the allegation and stating: “I’ve got to ring my wife.”

Police had arrived at the property with a warrant to search for photos of the accused from the 1980s.

Mr Challenger told the court yesterday he felt “frustration” when detectives arrived at his front door and arrested him.

“It’s quite devastating actually,” he said. “To be labelled a rapist … is not really something a person would want to wake up to in the morning.”

During an often fiery exchange with Crown prosecutor Andrew Moore, Mr Challenger was asked why he had linked his arrest to DNA before detectives had told him what evidence they had against him.

“I watch a lot of CSI,” Mr Challenger replied.

“It’s all over TV. When they come to your door and say they’re from the cold case or sexual crimes (squad) — it all runs together.

“It’s all over Hollywood. Everyone in this room would see it.”

The defendant also disputed the prosecution’s claim that a 1987 photograph showed him with a distinctive moustache that bore similarities to a description made by the female victim, arguing it was merely “bum fluff”.

“I can’t even grow a beard or moustache,” Mr Challenger said. “I don’t even have chest hair, for Christ’s sake.”

Earlier in the trial, the court heard allegations that semen found on the woman’s jumper belonged to Mr Challenger.

The trial continues in Geelong on Monday.

Originally published as Accused rapist Gregory Challenger takes witness stand to deny involvement in 1986 Lorne attack