Judge shuts down alleged Gumtree rapist Marco Gastello
A Victorian judge has sensationally shut down an alleged Gumtree rapist seeking bail during a lightning fast court hearing.
A Victorian judge has promptly shut down an alleged rapist seeking bail during an astonishingly brief hearing into the case.
Melbourne man Marco Gastello has been accused of drugging and raping an international student who rented a space in his share house through an ad posted on Gumtree.
The woman allegedly woke up in Gastello’s bed following a night of drinking with bruises on her legs and no memory of how she got there.
Forensic samples taken from a drink allegedly given to her by Gastello later showed traces of the sedative Oxazepam.
In a less than five-minute bail hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Justice Whelan promptly shut down a bid from Gastello’s lawyers to have him released.
“There is an unacceptable risk that the applicant will offend on bail or pose a risk to the safety of another person,” Justice Simon Whelan said.
“I will publish my reasons and those reasons will be sent to you by email.”
And the court was abruptly adjourned.
It took three years after the alleged incident for police to charge Gastello.
In the lead up to the alleged attack, police say Gastello, 43, offered the 25 year-old Thai woman vodka and they had several drinks together, before the woman became intoxicated.
Police allege she woke the next morning in Gastello’s bed with bruises on her body and no recollection of what had occurred.
The court has heard the 25-year-old allegedly found a white powdery substance in her glass and reported the matter to police.
She then underwent a medical exam, which found DNA alleged to be Mr Gastello’s.
A urine test and a sample from the glass also detected Oxazepam, a sedative used to treat insomnia, police allege.
During a court hearing in October, the woman recalled having a memory or dream of being dragged by her wrists.
“After drinking this glass, I don’t remember much,” she told the court during the committal hearing.
“I had to use all the walls to walk back to my bedroom.”
Gastello has denied charges of rape, administering an intoxicating substance for sexual purposes and sexual assault.
He remains before the courts.
rhiannon.tuffield@news.com.au