‘I was glad she was there’: a friendship forged in the courtroom

Two women who accused the same man of sexually assaulting them received very different outcomes in their court cases, but through the trauma forged a unique friendship.

The lottery of the justice system left two alleged sexual assault victims with vastly different outcomes.

But, somewhere in the trauma of it all, a unique bond was forged.

Remzi Bektasovski was sentenced last week to a maximum 5½ years in jail for sexually assaulting Holly Leppard back in 2017.

He had been found guilty of that assault months earlier. But he had also been acquitted of sexually assaulting a second complainant, also then 17.

A second woman accused Remzi Bektasovski of sexual assault. Picture: iStock

Despite the different outcomes for the two women, when Bektasovski’s sentencing day arrived, it was an experience the two young women shared.

“I told her ‘it’s still the same person, it doesn’t make what happened to you any less serious or important’,” Ms Leppard said.

“I was glad she was there. She is very strong.”

The second complainant was seated in the public gallery on April 30 as Ms Leppard delivered a powerful victim impact statement to the court.

The young women went to high school together but had drifted apart.

When they ran into each other in 2017, the second complainant mentioned Bektasovski’s name.

“I got very nervous and said ‘I need to tell you something’,” Ms Leppard remembered.

“I knew she knew him and I thought maybe I need to tell her to keep her away from him.”

Holly Leppard was sexually assaulted by Remzi Bektasovski. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The second complainant insisted Ms Leppard report what happened and went with her to the police.

“She said that he was a pig and if he did that we need to take you to the police,” Ms Leppard said.

“She reassured me that there are things they can do where nothing is said or done until you’re ready.”

Ms Leppard said this support was crucial in her decision to talk to police.

“I really questioned my own sanity,” she said.

“I thought maybe I wasn’t clear (about saying no to him). I knew I said no but it went blurry from the stress. I was hoping it would go away without the stress of having to deal with it.”

Some time after, the second complainant also alleged Bektasovski, a former school friend, had sexually assaulted her in a separate incident in late 2016.

As witnesses in an upcoming trial, Ms Leppard and the complainant kept their distance to avoid the perception of collusion.

Remzi Bektasovski.

The second complainant was the first woman to give evidence at Bektasovski’s trial in January.

The court heard the then-teenager met Bektasovski at his 18th birthday and they began talking on social media afterwards.

But the young woman said on one afternoon at her house, Bektasovski was aggressive, kissed her forcefully and sexual assaulted her.

Bektasovski denied he had sex with her without her consent, and described it as a “friends with benefits” situation. 

Once it was all over, Ms Leppard said she was worried how the second complainant would feel about their conflicting verdicts.

“She said she was proud of me and congratulations but she did say she was quite hurt,” Ms Leppard said.

“But it made her feel better knowing he was still getting something.”

Ms Leppard described the second complainant as strong and assertive and said she would have presented as more confident in front of the jury than her.

Asked why she thought the jury came to a different result on her case, Ms Leppard pondered if it was their inability to understand the previous consensual sex between Bektasovski and the second complainant.

“I think he expected it from her but still it wasn’t consent,” she said.

“In a way, maybe that was hard for the jury to get their head around.”