‘It was horrendous’: Australian woman’s devastating three-month ordeal after alleged rape

When Julie Rosenberg heard her daughter say the words “rape, it was rape”, her heart dropped. Then she swung into action.

EXCLUSIVE

When Julie Rosenberg, a lawyer from Woollahra, heard her daughter Sarah say the words “rape, it was rape”, her heart dropped.

“It’s every parent’s nightmare … It’s a very horrific conversation no mother ever wants to have,” she says.

But Julie quickly snapped into “mum mode”, organising a trip to Family Planning as the man had not worn a condom.

Julie was there when Sarah visited Family Planning.

As a mum, Julie was there listening in when Sarah called the first police station at Paddington, which was initially treated as a “hoax call”.

She was there for the full five hours at Bondi Police Station, as Sarah gave her first police interview in December 2019.

And she was there when Sarah was told she would need to start the process all over again at Kings Cross Station, as no statement had been recorded at Bondi.

“We were there for about five hours. We thought we were reporting. It was only after we finished the interview that we found out that no, that actually wasn’t a report,” she says.

“It was sort of almost like we had ticked a box and yes, we were believed … and at the end of that, they were like, ‘great. It’s good to go ahead. You will now have to go and report where the crime happened’ which was Darlinghurst.

“So we made an appointment and started the process all over again.

“It was horrendous. Sarah had to relive it bit by bit.”

Over the next three months, Julie and her husband Geoff, a surgeon, spent hours ferrying Sarah back and forth to appointments at Kings Cross Police Station, where Sarah spent over 20 hours giving her statement.

Julie was with her daughter every step of the way. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/news.com.au

“The police were very much on Sarah’s side by then, very supportive, totally believed her story,” she says.

And Julie was there by Sarah’s side when she got the phone call that Joshua* had been arrested and charged with six counts, including “intentional choking without consent”, “intentional suffocation without consent” and two counts of “sexual intercourse without consent”.

The combined charges represented a maximum of 44 years jail, if found guilty.

What makes this such a remarkable and perhaps unusual story is that while at times Julie was forced to snap into “tiger mum” mode, she also showed incredible compassion towards the accused, even trying to get him psychological help before she understood the full graphic nature of the violence.

“I’m a lawyer by training. … I’ve been into lots of prisons,” says Julie.

“I don’t have enormous faith in the prison system as a means of redemption or changing people. And this was a guy that on face value we liked. It was, I think, easier for us to think he had some sort of psychotic episode or brain snap, and could be helped … So that’s why [my husband Geoff and I] really set out to get help for him.”

Using their contacts in the medical community, Sarah’s parents reached out to enlist the best help they could find for Joshua.

“Geoff and I met [Joshua] a number of times in the park near to us,” says Julie.

“And he said he was absolutely committed to change. He was totally regretful, disappointed with himself, didn’t want to be that person, and said he wanted to get help.

“We engaged his parents. And initially his parents were very on board.”

News.com.au has sighted numerous text messages between Sarah’s parents and Joshua, and his parents, to that effect.

Geoff also organised a sit down “intervention” with Joshua’s parents to discuss the allegations and the plan moving forward.

In a document sighted by news.com.au, Geoff had prepared a script for that intervention. An independent third party was also in attendance at the face-to-face meeting,. News.com.au has sighted a sworn statement by that witness regarding that meeting.

But a jury would never hear any of that evidence.

The independent third party witness was never called. The text messages never entered into evidence. The script never discussed.

Geoff himself was always on the witness list, but was never called. His 38 page police statement never saw the light of day.

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Sarah Rosenberg pictured with her dad. Picture: Supplied

Julie, for her part, was called on the fourth day of what was supposed to be a three to four week trial. According to the transcript seen by news.com.au, Julie was sworn in at 2.19pm. She was out the door by 2.42pm. Just 23 minutes for a key witness to do both the examination in chief and cross examination.

In that time, Julie was never asked about the meetings in the park with Joshua. She was never asked about the many text messages she had back and forth with him organising psychological assistance, with him promising to get help. Those texts never made it into evidence.

Huge parts of the narrative were left out. It left the jury with a confused, disjointed narrative.

“At no point ever did anyone say the evidence was inadmissable,” says Julie.

“We went to the trouble afterwards of having it assessed, all of it was admissible. All the evidence was admissible. It was just not led.”

News.com.au has sighted the independent report. It was conducted by Dr Adam Booker of Sir Owen Dixon Chambers.

Julie, as a lawyer, says she left the trial with her faith in justice shattered.

“It is the most disempowering thing you can possibly go through as a lawyer. I am still coming to terms with it. It is so disappointing. It is so embarrassing,” she says.

“You know, not many people love being a lawyer. I used to love being a lawyer. I really did. And whilst it doesn’t always get it right, it really tries.

“I did believe it errs on the side of justice. I no longer believe that at all.”

Sarah’s on a mission to help others. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/news.com.au

Julie blames a lack of preparation.

“Everyone knows the DPP is underfunded … and [he] had [one of the] highest paid QC’s in the country.”

Julie’s daughter Sarah only met the Crown prosecutor one day before trial, for 40 minutes.

“We were so unconfident in the DPP … [The Crown] hadn’t spoken to any other witnesses. He’d barely spoken to us….” says Julie.

“We had people on standby, the other witnesses waiting to find out what was happening. But no one had been told when they were coming in, what they were doing.

“You had a feeling like there was no case.

“As a lawyer, it was insane …. it’s not possible to get across anybody’s brief in that amount of time.

“It’s just not possible to actively represent anyone in any matter, in any area of law with that little preparation.”

Sarah Rosenberg has now submitted a complaint to the Bar Association regarding the DPP’s running of the case and conduct.

In correspondence sighted by news.com.au, the Bar Association has accepted the complaint and agreed to investigate on eight grounds including failure of communication; sudden dismissal of evidence; non compliance with charter of victims rights; non compliance with the office of DPP guidelines; failure to lead evidence and failure to exercise professional skill and care when cross-examining.

“The whole of it is like watching your daughter being raped, but with your hands tied behind your back and your eyes glued open,” says Julie.

On day one of the trial, Sarah had been told she was not needed.

She had just taken a valium when she received a phone call to say she had to be at court in 15 minutes to give evidence

“We jumped in cars and tore like lunatics to the court … The worst minute of my life was catching Sarah as she fell out of the car into the gutter and we had to pull her up the stairs … She was just pitched into the courtroom and proceedings started almost immediately,” Julie says.

‘We will never have our little girl back’. Picture: Supplied

‘She is stronger. I am so proud of her’. Picture: Supplied

“We weren’t given a room. We noticed that [Joshua] and his family had a nice room where they could go and sit.

“The jury couldn’t see her. The judge couldn’t see her.

“What I wanted was for Sarah to actually feel like she had been heard and listened to and for someone to actually weigh up the evidence.

“He was found not guilty on all accounts, and my only thought was ‘how could it be anything else?’ As a lawyer, you can only make a decision on what’s being presented. So if you present [very little evidence], what do you expect?”

As for Sarah, she has now turned the notes she took during the investigation and trial into a resource to help other victim-survivors navigate the system.

She is also lobbying, through her charity With You We Can, for sexual assault complainants to be able to access Indpendent Legal Representation.

Julie says she is “so proud”.

“The law spends most of its time trying to put the complainant back in the position they were in before the event. That is impossible with sexual assault,” she says.

“We will never have our little girl back. She’ll grow, and this will become smaller. But it is a lifelong impact, and you can’t put somebody back in that position [they were in prior].

“But I do believe standing up and being heard and telling your story and being treated with respect and not undermined is a big part of the healing. And as a mum, her healing is my healing.

“I kind of always knew she was destined to do something really valuable. And in my book this is the most valuable. She’s turned something horrific into something that will help someone.

“She came out as a really small, puny baby. But she is fierce and intelligent and so brave.

“She is stronger. I am so proud of her.”

*Joshua is a pseudonym

Nina Funnell is Walkley Award winning journalist and the creator of the Take the Stand campaign run in exclusive partnership with news.com.au. To support this independent journalism visit here