Love Machine nightclub slammed for putting ‘profits above protecting women’
An alleged sex assault victim told a court said she was left disgusted by the embattled nightclub’s treatment of her complaint.
Police & Courts
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The embattled Love Machine nightclub has been slammed for putting “profits above protecting women” during a hearing into an alleged sexual assault in the venue’s toilets.
Brandon Arfaoui, 22, was on Monday committed to stand trial after pleading not guilty to raping a young woman after allegedly locking her in a cubicle during a New Year’s Eve party.
The alleged victim’s friend told the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court she was left “disgusted” with how Love Machine’s organisers and security handled the alleged sexual assault.
“The organisers didn’t seem to care about the women in their club,” the witness said. “They seem to put profits above protecting the women that were there.”
The court heard a large number of police officers had already been called to the Prahran nightclub in the early hours on January 1, 2020 following reports of a separate sexual assault that occurred in the same toilet.
Police allege the two alleged assaults occurred just 10 minutes apart.
Investigators confirmed Mr Arfaoui was not involved in the other incident. That investigation remains ongoing.
The woman’s friend told the court on Monday their group had arrived at the club about 8pm and were on the top floor, known as the “VIP area”, when the alleged victim went to the bathroom.
Police allege Mr Arfaoui, of Carnegie, struck up a conversation with the 25-year-old woman in the smokers’ area of the popular club shortly after midnight.
Mr Arfaoui asked her if she wanted to do drugs with him, to which she agreed, and the pair went to the unisex bathroom, police allege.
Once in the cubicle, Mr Arfaoui locked the door and told the alleged victim she would need to perform oral sex on him in exchange for the drugs and pulled down his jeans, a court summary alleges.
“The complainant immediately froze,” it states.
Police allege Mr Arfaoui forcibly kissed the young woman, despite her repeatedly saying “No”, before grabbing her head and forcing it towards his exposed crotch. He then allegedly performed a lewd act before passing her a pill and leaving the cubicle.
She immediately flushed the pill and returned to her friends, saying: “That guy just sexually assaulted me.”
The witness told the court she was immediately angry and asked her friend to point out the man.
The friend said she then confronted the man before club security escorted him out.
“They seemed to walk him downstairs but then they let him back in because I think he’s a regular,” she said.
Last November, Mr Arfaoui was charged with rape, sexual assault and directing a lewd act at the victim. During a police interview he remarked when shown a picture of the victim: “That’s one ugly kid.”
Magistrate Rodney Crisp ruled there was sufficient evidence for Mr Arfaoui to stand trial. He is on bail to front the County Court in June.
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