Mildura truck driver accused of raping a woman awaits verdict

Closing arguments have been made to the jury at the end of a week long trial of a Mildura truck driver accused of rape.

A jury has retired to consider its verdict in a rape trial of a Mildura truck driver.

The case, against David Ladd, 54, has been heard at the Bendigo County Court since Monday.

The truck driver allegedly drove a woman from Melbourne to his home at Mildura in March 2019 so she could meet up with her long distance boyfriend.

Prosecutor Zubin Menon said before her boyfriend could arrive at the property to see her, Mr Ladd had assaulted the woman with a vibrator on the outside of her jeans and put his hand in her pants.

He allegedly penetrated her with his fingers and also put his hand inside her bra.

David Ladd, 54, Mildura truck driver leaves Bendigo County Court, Oct 3, 22.

Mr Ladd has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.

Defence barrister David Brustman KC said his client had offered good character references to the court and the jury should rely on the testimonies of the people who knew him.

Mr Brustman said a taped police interview with Mr Ladd shown to the court demonstrated that his client had been cooperative with the investigation.

“(He is) a man who does not have an Einsteinly-IQ (sic) but is a man who has been described as just an ordinary sort of bloke who is just respectful to women,” Mr Brustman said.

The court heard Mr Ladd had told police during his interview he did own a vibrator and had either shown it or mentioned it to the woman, but denied assaulting her with it.

Mr Brustman said the alleged victim had been belligerent on the witness stand, had been “yelling, screaming” and that her courtroom demeanour should cause the jurors some “disquiet” in considering their verdict.

However, Judge Kevin Doyle directed the jury to not place too much weight on the woman’s demeanour.

Prosecutor Menon said it was overly simplistic to reduce an assessment of any witness down to the way they looked or spoke.

“Witnesses come in all shapes and sizes. You may consider that giving evidence is not common and may be stressful,” he said.

The jurors were told that the woman had been in a very distressed state when her boyfriend reached Mr Ladd’s house and she told him she had been raped.

She left the property in a taxi.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the woman arriving at Mr Ladd’s house and Mr Ladd walking out about 20 minutes later.

A male friend of the woman told the court that she had confided in him about the alleged attack soon after it happened.

He said he was concerned for her welfare and did not press for details but understood that some kind of “implement” had been used.