Steven Whiteside: Bairnsdale man pleads guilty to raping vulnerable woman

A horticulturalist raped an upset woman in East Gippsland, telling his victim having sex would make her feel better, a court has heard.

A horticulturalist told an upset woman having sex would make her feel better before he raped her and said it was the “best sex” he had, a court has heard.

Steven Whiteside, 32 of Bairnsdale, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Tuesday to one rolled up charge of rape and two charges of using a carriage service to procure sex from a person under 16 years.

The court heard the former maintenance worker was consoling his victim at an East Gippsland property after she had a fight with a family member before he attacked her.

The victim, in her early 20s, was sweating and sick before Whiteside told her to lie on a towel on the bed and take off her clothes because he knew something that would “help” her.

“Trust me, this will make you feel better,” Whiteside said.

The court heard he took off her clothes while she told him to stop before he became aggressive.

She told Whiteside she was in pain and she didn’t like what he was doing but he continued.

After he raped her, he left the room and then returned to tell her it was the “best sex he ever had”.

In a victim impact statement the woman said since she had isolated herself from family and friends and has nightmares.

“I can’t sleep, I wake up crying and screaming ‘get off me’,” she said.

The victim said she felt betrayed, lost confidence and direction in her life.

“No matter how hard I try, I have trouble trying to forget about it,” she said.

The court heard Whiteside also messaged two girls — 14 and 15 — to have sex with them.

The first girl told police she had told him she was only 14 so he would stop talking to her but it sparked his interest.

The second was an undercover cop posing as a 15-year-old girl.

During the separate conversations Whiteside spoke explicitly of sexual activity, asked for pictures and invited them to stay a night in his bed.

The court heard when he was told the second girl’s age, he said: “All good, doesn’t bother me”.

In a police interview, Whiteside initially denied engaging in the conversations and suggested his Facebook account was hacked.

He also said if he had met with the teens, he would have given them lunch and “a cuddle” before saying it was a “big mistake”.

“I keep telling myself in the head to not do it, but it happens,” he said.

At the time of the plea, Whiteside had served 29 days of pre-sentence detention.

He will return to court in 10 weeks after more psychological assessment is conducted.