Jade Grech’s secret sex film victim wants law changed after she was not told about court case

A woman whose real estate boyfriend secretly filmed them having sex has called for magistrates to be forced to make sure victims aren’t “forgotten” when their cases are heard.

A woman whose real estate boyfriend secretly filmed them having sex has called for magistrates to be forced to make sure victims aren’t “forgotten” when their cases are heard.

A woman whose real estate boyfriend secretly filmed them having sex has called for magistrates to be forced to make sure that victims know their case is being heard after she was “forgotten” and not even mentioned in court.

The woman was devastated that not only did police not tell her that ex-boyfriend Jade Grech was being dealt with but neither her name nor the impact he had on her life was referred to during the 20-minute hearing.

“It’s crazy to think that a matter can be dealt with without the victim knowing or having their name mentioned in the court proceedings,” the woman has told The Daily Telegraph.

Victims’ advocate Howard Brown backed her call.

“The victim feels completely abandoned by the system,” Mr Brown said.

Sydney real estate agent Jade Grech’s charges were dismissed on mental health grounds.

Police have already begun an investigation into why procedures were not followed and she was not told her case was being heard that day at Hornsby Local Court but a transcript of the case reveals the magistrate never asked whether she had been notified.

The charges against Grech, 39, were dismissed on mental health grounds and no convictions were recorded after his lawyer told the court he suffered from PTSD following abuse, acted on impulse and that a conviction would ruin his real estate career.

Double Bay’s Highland Property real estate has said he has since been stood down.

His ex-girlfriend had been preparing to give evidence at his trial but was not told he was entering an early guilty plea to intentionally recording an image without consent and installing or using a device to record a conversation after the woman discovered he had also secretly recorded her in her car.

“It should be mandatory that a magistrate should ask if the victim is in court before any proceedings go forward and whether they are aware of what the defence proposes,” the woman said.

“If this has happened in my case, I am sure it has happened to others. The victim’s voice should always be heard in court before any decisions are made.”

Double Bay real estate agent Jade Grech https://www.realestate.com.au/agent/jade-grech-2901002

Text messages between Grech and his former girlfriend.

The court was told in an agreed statement of facts the woman received the one-minute 16-second video via WhatsApp from Grech in February last year. She replied: “Can you please ask me before you record these things?”

Grech sent her back a “face screaming in fear” emoji.

The prosecutor argued for convictions to be recorded.

He said that secret recordings of sex acts were becoming common and they were a breach of trust.

He said that far from acting on impulse, the evidence was that Grech had planned the filming, hiding the camera.

Mr Brown said it appeared a lot of assumptions had been made in this case and the courts were letting victims down.

“It appears there has been a lot of assumptions made.

“The magistrate has assumed that because the police are prosecuting the matter that they have told the victim that the case was going ahead and that the victim accepted that he had made a defence of mental health.

“That is a lot of assumptions.

“Stuff-ups like this are not uncommon.”

NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman has been approached for comment.