Port Melbourne property developer Joshua Twelftree found not guilty of rape

A Melbourne property developer has faced court over the rape of a teacher while on a Bumble date with the jury delivering its verdict.

A Melbourne property developer has been found not guilty of raping a teacher.

Joshua Twelftree, 37, was found not guilty by a County Court jury on Wednesday.

Mr Twelftree had been on trial for an allegation he penetrated a woman’s vagina without her consent in mid-2019.

The court heard Mr Twelftree and the woman went on a date at his Port Melbourne apartment after the pair matched on dating app Bumble.

Mr Twelftree sometimes referred to the woman as “babe” and “love” in several messages leading up to the date.

“We will have some wine make out on the couch and see what happens,” Mr Twelftree said.

Mr Twelftree also told the woman they “clearly had chemistry”, she “deserves to be ravished and pleasured” and he was a “gentleman and man of morals”.

The pair later met at Mr Twelftree’s apartment where they drank alcohol, talked, watched the football and listened to music.

The woman, a teacher, had alleged she “blacked out” then woke in the bed to find Mr Twelftree sexually penetrating her.

“It’s not OK, you have to stop, I don’t want this,” she allegedly said.

The jury was told the woman also tried “more than once” to push Mr Twelftree away.

“Stop means just that, members of the jury … stop,” the prosecution submitted.

“It couldn’t be clearer … simple terms that are well understood.”

The prosecution submitted Mr Twelftree “worked hard to get (the complainant) to his house that night”.

“He compliments her, he flirts, he is nothing but persistent in making out at his apartment …,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard the woman commenced a relationship with another man after her date with Mr Twelftree.

“This is not a case of a woman jaded, a woman making false allegations because she’s angry, it doesn’t add up,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecution also submitted the woman was “honest that she couldn’t remember everything about the night” and doesn’t know why she has a “blank in her memory”.

“But she can say with certainty that she said ‘stop’ and she said it multiple times …,” the prosecutor said.

The defence submitted the woman was “interested” in meeting an “attractive man to see what happens”.

“She got to the apartment and he was late … she’s keen enough to keep waiting …,” the defence submitted.

“Maybe she thought he was a bit quieter or gentler than she thought he’d be … (the woman said) ‘he invited me up to the apartment’, this was no hostage situation.”

The defence submitted “drink spiking” was an “elephant in the room” of the case.

“The prosecution make decisions and they’ve made a decision not to allege that …,” the defence submitted.

“She had a memory blank she says … (she told a doctor) ‘I think I blacked out’, the police never investigated what that might mean … if (the blackout) occurred what might have caused it.”

The woman, who did not report the alleged rape to psychiatrist until two months later, was receiving treatment for a psychiatric issues at the time, the court was told.

Mr Twelftree, a commercial property developer who builds childcare centres and medical facilities, called “good character evidence” which stated the alleged rape was “inconsistent” with his character.

“Mr Twelftree is a good man and he is an honest man … he told you the truth, he told you ‘I am not rapist’ …,” the defence submitted.

“Three years ago he had a consensual sexual encounter with a woman who he did not know had all those issues that we all now know about …

“Mr Twelftree is not a rapist and it is time now for this good man to be sent home to his family with a verdict of not guilty.”

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