‘Don’t call me a rapist’: Hugh Sweeney pleads not guilty

A man shared an Uber ride home with a woman and told her he would not “try anything” before he raped her as she slept at his apartment, a court has heard.

Hugh Sweeney is charged with raping a woman at his Prahran apartment. Picture: Nicki Connolly

A Prahran man coaxed a young woman back to his apartment before he raped her as she slept, a court has heard.

Hugh Sweeney fronted the County Court on Tuesday for the first day of his trial over the alleged rape of a woman at his Prahran apartment hours after they met at a bar in Richmond.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge, with his lawyer saying it was in dispute that the woman had not given consent.

In his opening address, prosecutor Paul Kounnas said Mr Sweeney, 35, introduced himself to the woman, then in her early 20s, on the dance floor of Public House in June 2015.

The pair had never met, the prosecutor said, but Mr Sweeney was friends with the woman’s stepbrother.

The pair allegedly stepped out for a cigarette before the woman, who’d had a few drinks but described herself as sober, told Mr Sweeney she was going home.

He allegedly offered her a ride home in an Uber he had booked, which she initially declined but accepted after he insisted.

As they drove off, Mr Sweeney allegedly told the woman they could go back to his, promising he would not “try anything”.

After arriving at his apartment, the woman allegedly borrowed clothing before getting in Mr Sweeney’s bed to sleep.

It’s alleged Mr Sweeney tried kissing her but she rebuffed him before he stopped and she fell asleep.

The woman allegedly later woke up to Mr Sweeney raping her before she jumped out of bed and asked what he was doing.

It’s alleged Mr Sweeney was “startled” and repeatedly told the woman: “Don’t call me a rapist.”

The jury was told the woman cried to her mother after she was picked up but did not report the incident to police until February 2017 – about 18 months after the alleged rape.

She allegedly ran into Mr Sweeney at a bar in March 2017, where she approached him saying he had hurt her.

They allegedly spoke about the night before he provided her his contact details saying she could pass them on to police.

The court heard the investigation was closed in June 2017 after the woman failed to engage with police, but it was reopened the following year upon her request.

Mr Sweeney’s defence barrister Peter Morrissey SC told the court his client did not dispute there was “some” sexual penetration.

But he said it was disputed that the woman had not provided consent.

“He doesn’t deny … that he was there in the bed, in his bedroom, at his home with (her),” he said.

Mr Morrissey added the woman’s credibility and reliability would be issues in the trial.

The trial, which is expected to last for a week, continues.