Accused gives evidence in high-profile rape trial: ‘I was stressed for myself but also for my relationship with (my girlfriend)’
A high-profile man accused of raping a woman in a Melbourne house says he was shocked when he first heard the allegations against him and admits he made a “stupid” choice while he was stressed and panicked.
A high-profile man accused of rape has given evidence in his own trial, telling a jury he did not sexually assault the complainant – but did tell lies and doctor an Uber receipt because he was “stressed” about his relationship with his girlfriend.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is standing trial in the County Court, accused of raping a woman twice inside a Melbourne home in January last year.
He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, claiming that the complainant “got it wrong”.
After almost a week of prosecution evidence, the accused addressed the jury for the first time on Monday, labelling the allegations against him as “far-fetched”.
Crown prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams previously told the court the complainant attended the accused’s home late on a summer night after she was invited over by the accused’s girlfriend.
A boozy gathering had been hosted at the home that day, but only the accused, his girlfriend and his mate, Mr B*, remained when the complainant arrived at 12.23am.
Mr McWilliams said the complainant, who was in a “casual sexual relationship” with Mr B, had consensual sex with him in an upstairs bedroom.
Mr B testified last week that he then left the bedroom to move his car, prior to catching an Uber, and did not recall returning to the bedroom at any stage that night.
At 1.58am, Mr B left in the Uber, arriving at his home at 2.09am.
After his departure, it is alleged that the accused slid into bed with the complainant and pretended to be Mr B as he digitally penetrated her twice.
But after taking an oath to tell the truth, the accused recounted his version of events from the witness box under questioning from his defence barrister David Hallowes SC.
Dressed in a suit with a blue tie, the accused said he remembered Mr B, who he called his “best friend at the time”, entering his room to ask him for a condom at some point that night.
He said Mr B entered his room again later that night to ask him to open the gate so he could move his car.
It is after Mr B’s departure that the prosecution alleges that the accused raped the complainant, who claimed to have identified him as he left the bedroom because light was “coming in” from the hallway.
But when asked whether the hallway lights were turned at any stage during the night, the accused replied that they were off and he did not turn them on.
The jury heard the complainant told the accused’s girlfriend the next morning that the accused had raped her, prompting the accused to question Mr B.
“(Mr B) said that the sex they had was consensual and he had left the room and gone back in at some point during the night,” the accused said.
When asked how he felt about the allegations, the accused replied: “I was pretty shocked.”
He then admitted to doctoring the Uber receipt, by changing the departure time from 1.58am to 2.37am and the arrival time from 2.09am to 2.57am.
“Why did you do that?” Mr Hallowes asked.
“Um, it wasn’t to lie about my whereabouts on the night … but it was just to alleviate a bit of the stress from (my girlfriend) and myself,” he replied.
“I didn’t need to do it and it was stupid.
“But it was just to alleviate the stress … because the allegations were so far-fetched and that’s just what I did because I thought it was the right thing to do.
“I was stressed, panicked … I’ve never had someone accuse me of this before, so I was stressed for myself but also for my relationship with (my girlfriend).”
The accused also admitted to asking Mr B to lie by telling him to say, if asked, that he returned to the bedroom when his Uber cancelled.
The jury heard the accused later “continued that lie” over a recorded phone call he shared with the complainant because it “married up” with the doctored Uber receipt.
Under cross-examination by Mr McWilliams, the accused also admitted to asking Mr B to lie by telling him to say, if asked, that he left the home after the complainant and was waiting in another room for his Uber.
But he denied telling lies to “shift the blame” from himself onto Mr B.
“What I want to say to you directly is the account you gave in evidence of what happened that night was not truthful,” Mr McWilliams said.
“I was telling the truth,” he replied.
“The prosecution says it was you who entered the bedroom of (the complainant) after (Mr B) left,” Mr McWilliams said.
“That’s incorrect, I never went into that room,” he replied.
“It was you who penetrated her vagina with your fingers on two occasions,” Mr McWilliams said.
“That’s incorrect, that never happened,” he replied.
“What I want to suggest to you is your behaviour … lies … forging the Uber receipt were all done because you knew what you had done … you knew it was you who had sexually assaulted (the complainant) that night?” Mr McWilliams asked.
“No, I never went into that room and sexually assaulted (the complainant),” he replied.
Mr McWilliams has alleged that the rapes were committed “through deception” before the accused “attempted to avoid accountability, with even more deception”.
But Mr Hallowes previously stated that one of the “key issues” would be whether or not Mr B returned to the bedroom before catching the Uber.
The defence also called five character witnesses on Monday who spoke about the accused’s “kind and generous” nature.
The trial, before Judge Gregory Lyon, continues.
*Not his real name
Originally published as Accused gives evidence in high-profile rape trial: ‘I was stressed for myself but also for my relationship with (my girlfriend)’
