Sydney erotic photographer charged with historical sexual assault
A famous bondage photographer has been refused bail for allegedly assaulting models who posed naked for him while they were suspended with rope and “unable to escape”.
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A famous erotic bondage photographer has been refused bail for allegedly assaulting models who posed naked for him while they were suspended with rope and “unable to escape”.
Garth Knight, 48, was arrested at his Redfern home on Friday morning before being charged with sexual intercourse without consent and aggravated sex assault by depriving liberty.
Police will allege in court a woman, who was 35 at the time, was sexually assaulted by Knight while posing for him at a Surry Hills warehouse in 2005.
Police will also allege a 33-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in 2011 during a photo shoot at a Waterloo home.
Detectives were able to make the arrest after a victim came forward to police in May 2020.
The photographer is famous for taking photos of Japanese rope bondage, known as Shibari, where a woman is bound by rope in sexual or compromising positions.
Knight was handcuffed wearing a green jumper and blue jeans when he appeared in custody via video link from Surry Hills Police Station at the Central Local Court on Friday afternoon.
Knight’s lawyer Phillip Ryan told the court the issue would be whether or not the women consented to his client’s actions.
Mr Phillip said one woman had a prior sexual relationship with Knight. And the other spoke with Knight about “digital penetration” before the shoot.
“It’s an unusual set of facts,” Mr Ryan told the court.
“It appears to reveal an existing relationship that involved a sexual nature that was part of a business transaction. It seems from the get go there is this issue of consent that needs to be determined.”
Police prosecutor Rick Stacey told the court police had a “very strong” case.
“The victims aren’t known to each other and they reported the offence at completely different times,” Mr Stacey said.
Mr Stacey said Knight made partial admissions and text messaged the victims to apologise about his conduct.
Magistrate Robert Williams said both victim statements had resemblances, despite being lodged six years apart.
He said Knight would be facing jail if he is found guilty of the offences.
Knight’s bail was refused. He is due to appear in the Central Local Court on November 19. ”
In a March interview with Beautiful Bizarre, Knight told the website about the “sensual, erotic and spiritual” nature of his work.
“Working with rope and binding people is about connection, trust and empathy between those involved,” he told the website.
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“This can manifest as sensual and erotic, but it is often also predominantly or exclusively about the exploration and deepening of the relationships of the participants on many other levels.”
Detective Chief Inspector Rod Hart said the alleged incident was “traumatic” for the alleged victims.
“We are managing their welfare. They have been terrific with the police. Obviously it’s been a traumatic experience. They have been dealing with this for a long time,” Detective Chief Inspector Hart said.
“We will do the best job to ensure they get justice.”
Detective Chief Inspector Hart said sexual assault allegations were investigated as a “priority” by NSW Police.
“We have resources and technology that we will put into these situations. We’ve had four detectives working around the clock on this matter,” he said.
“We will investigate it with our manpower under Strike Force Nannawilli and we‘ll remain with (alleged) victims through the entire process. We take these allegations very seriously.”