Ex-Melbourne Victory A-League Women coach Sebastien Bechaud guilty of raping woman after date

A Melbourne Victory A-League Women coach told his rape victim “giving me your legs is consent” after meeting the woman on a dating app.

Former Melbourne Victory A-League Women goalkeeping coach Sebastien Bechaud was found guilty of rape. Picture: Facebook.

A Melbourne Victory A-League Women coach was sacked after he brutally raped a woman he met via a dating app.

Sebastien Bechaud, 35, fronted the County Court on Friday after he was found guilty of rape.

Bechaud, who previously had consensual sex with the victim in a public toilet after meeting her on Hinge, flipped the woman on a bed then raped her in early 2021.

The victim begged Bechaud to stop because he was “hurting” her but he did not, the court was told.

The victim recalled she screamed loudly for Bechaud to stop but he spat in her mouth and continued raping her.

The woman also recalled she “felt trapped” and “fearful” because Bechaud was a “large athletic man” who was “strong and forceful”.

The victim also “kept telling” Bechaud she was “in pain” and he “was hurting her” but he “did not respond”.

Bechaud coached Melbourne Victory A-League soccer players when he raped his victim.

Bechaud’s victim tried to get away but he grabbed her and slapped her.

Bechaud also ordered his victim “to stop moving”.

The court heard Bechaud also hit the victim and told her “well give me pleasure”.

Bechaud and the victim exchanged text messages in the days following the rape.

Bechaud told his victim he was just “testing her limits” and she shouldn’t have said anything during the assault.

“I had stop(ped) before but girls want more,” Bechaud texted the victim.

“I was telling you to stop, it could have been for whatever reason … it’s not consent,” the victim said. ”.

“lol giving me your legs is consent,” Bechaud replied.

“But when I say stop, that’s no longer consent,” the victim said.

“It was only few minutes come on,” Bechaud replied.

“That’s rough sex with a strong man baby … you can’t even bend over properly so I can enjoy the doggy.”

Bechaud raped his victim after meeting her on dating app Hinge.

The victim told a friend Bechaud’s conduct was “degrading” and she ”felt very powerless” because he held her down.

Bechaud was arrested and interviewed by police in November 2021.

Bechaud “agreed” he had sex with the victim but denied it wasn’t consensual.

“Someone says to me you’re hurting me I always stop or try to make the girl more comfortable …,” Bechaud said.

“I’m not into, like when someone is actually hurt, and doesn’t like it, it puts me off …

“So … I would stop … I know myself.”

Bechaud told police it was “rough sex” but he denied spitting on her and “having the type of sex she described”.

Bechaud also claimed he had a previous relationship where it was a “game where if one

of them said ‘stop’ it actually meant to keep going”.

The victim, who read her impact statement to the court, said she felt “physically and emotionally manipulated”.

Bechaud was involved with various Melbourne soccer clubs.

“I felt he was treating me like an animal, hitting me and yelling at me to stop moving … I wanted to make sure he knew how severe my injuries …,” she said.

“Now I feel I’m a vehicle for sexual pleasure …”

The court heard Bechaud was a talented soccer player in France before his professional career ended after he suffered a serious on-field injury.

Bechaud, a French national, also worked as a globetrotting model who did fashion shoots and runway gigs in various countries.

Bechaud moved to Melbourne where he gained several coaching jobs and he worked as the Melbourne Victory women’s team head goalkeeping coach at the time of the rape.

Bechaud got his “dream job” at Victory in 2019 before he was appointed head goalkeeping coach in 2020.

Bechaud, who also coached Melbourne Victory boys and girls academy teams, had his job terminated after he was charged in January 2023.

Bechaud also played soccer causally and previously worked for the NDIS and Brunswick City, Melbourne City and South Melbourne soccer clubs.

Bechaud worked as a freelance fitness coach after he was sacked by Melbourne Victory.

Judge Liz Gaynor said Bechaud was “engaged in very serious sexual offending”.

“(The victim) was reduced to a situation of fear and powerlessness at the hands of a much bigger, stronger person who was oblivious to her plight …,” Judge Gaynor said.

Bechaud will be sentenced at a later date.