Adam Ebeling, 25, stands trial for rape in Geelong

A man is standing trial accused of raping a woman in a dorm room at Marcus Oldham College, but his lawyer has told the jury the sex was consensual.

Adam Ebeling appeared in the County Court on Monday to face trial on a single count of rape.

A man is standing trial accused of raping a fellow studentin a dorm room at a Waurn Ponds agricultural school.

Adam Ebeling, 25, appeared in the County Court at Geelong on Monday, facing trial after pleading not guilty to one count of rape, stemming from an incident in March 2021 at Marcus Oldham College.

Mr Ebeling was charged after an investigation that began in January 2022.

After being empanelled on Monday morning, the jury of six men and six women heard opening addresses from the prosecution and defence.

Crown prosecutor Fiona Martin told the jury that Mr Ebeling and the complainant were both students at Marcus Oldham.

The alleged rape occurred after a group of students had gone out in Geelong, the jury heard.

Ms Martin told the jury that the complainant “did not get intoxicated” and returned to the college early.

As she returned, she and Mr Ebeling exchanged messages on Snapchat, and the complainant gave Mr Ebeling her dorm room number.

She “thought it was harmless”, Ms Martin said, and told Mr Ebeling in the messages that nothing sexual was going to happen.

But, Ms Martin alleged, when she returned to her dorm she was raped.

Ms Martin told the jury Mr Ebeling got on top of the complainant as they both sat on her bed.

The complainant allegedly tried to push him off, physically resisting and pleading with him to stop, the jury heard.

But Mr Ebeling sexually penetrated her with his penis until he ejaculated inside her, the jury heard.

In between the alleged rape and the police report, the complainant spoke to a number of friends, Ms Martin said.

Ms Martin said the jury will hear evidence from those witnesses, as well as friends of Mr Ebeling, who allegedly spoke to him about the incident and in some cases “exchanged messages”.

Mr Ebeling also allegedly apologised to the complainant in messages exchanged about what happened.

Ms Martin said the complainant spoke to the principal of Marcus Oldham College in late 2021, who then spoke to Mr Ebeling.

Mr Ebeling’s lawyer, Paul Smallwood, told the jury there were a number of matters not in dispute, including that Mr Ebeling sexually penetrated the complainant for “between one and two minutes”.

However, Mr Smallwood told the jury that the sex was consensual and messages between Mr Ebeling and his friends or the complainant were not admissions of rape.

“Any suggestion” of an admission was in dispute, Mr Smallwood said.

Mr Smallwood said a day after the alleged rape, the complainant sent Mr Ebeling a Snapchat message, suggesting they “can’t tell anyone” about what happened.

Mr Smallwood suggested accounts the complainant gave in the months following the incident differed from the prosecution’s case.

The trial, before Judge Gerard Mullaly, continues.

Originally published as Adam Ebeling, 25, stands trial for rape in Geelong