‘Prejudice’: Athlete accused of rape makes court complaint
An elite equestrian rider accused of raping a woman has experienced extreme prejudice, his lawyer told a court.
An elite equestrian charged with rape has experienced “extreme prejudice” because of a lengthy wait to stand trial while barred from competing, his lawyer told a court.
Callum Buczak may have gone to the Tokyo Olympics if not for the rape charge, his lawyer Damian Sheales said on Thursday.
He is accused of raping a woman in February 2019 at a residence in Melbourne’s southeast.
Mr Sheales said Mr Buczak was working as a horse acupuncturist as he wasn’t allowed to compete until the charge was resolved in the courts.
“He’s been working as a horse acupuncturist, but if you tell an elite, world-standard, international athlete – there’s no comparison,” he said.
“He’s trained his whole life for this, and he’s working as a horse acupuncturist, well, well done him. But it’s a circumstance where the prejudice is extreme.”
Mr Buczak and his girlfriend Alexandra McDonough are also each charged with stalking, brought because of their alleged actions after the alleged victim blocked them on Instagram.
They allegedly used secret accounts and other acquaintances to monitor her Instagram account after being blocked.
Their lawyers on Thursday argued that the stalking charges should be heard in the lower Magistrates Court, while prosecutors want them heard in the higher County Court where the rape trial will take place.
Mr Sheales said it was “bordering on scandalous” to hear the stalking charges in the County Court, in part due to the court’s “spectacular” backlog because of Covid-19.
He said new County Court trials were being delayed until June and July next year at the earliest, as a result of the court’s inability to have juries during lockdown restrictions.
“The criminal justice system, as we all know, is under extreme pressure,” he said.
“We all know that trials are pouring in the front door at the trial courts, and very little is going out the back door.”
Mr Buczak and Ms McDonough will return to court next week.