Axe Construction boss Richard Aubertin ordered to pay $25k for sexual harassment

A Sydney construction boss has been ordered to pay thousands to his ex-secretary after a court found he extorted her for sex, with texts revealing he encouraged her to get an abortion after she fell pregnant.

Axe Construction boss Richard Aubertin who was accused of sexually harassing his secretary Sonata Trakimaite.

An eastern suburbs construction boss has been ordered to pay thousands of dollars to his former secretary after the Federal Court found he extorted her for sex and took advantage of her “vulnerable” circumstances, with text messages revealing he pushed her to get an abortion after she fell pregnant.

After an explosive trial laying out hundreds of texts tracking the decline of the pair’s relationship, judge Robert Cameron found Axe Construction director Richard Aubertin sexually harassed his secretary Sonata Trakimaite, declaring she did not have sex with him “because she wanted to, but because she felt she had to”.

The judge also found Mr Aubertin’s business – based in Sydney’s Double Bay – vicariously liable for his actions.

Although Judge Cameron rejected Ms Trakimaite’s claims that she was sacked because she got pregnant, he lashed Mr Aubertin for his “ugly and selfish” behaviour and ordered him to pay Ms Trakimaite $25,000 in damages.

The relationship

According to court documents, Ms Trakimaite and Mr Aubertin first met in a Sydney bar in April 2016, after which they exchanged phone numbers and social media accounts, and occasionally ran into each other.

Ms Trakimaite began work for Mr Aubertin as an office administrator in a casual work capacity in August 2020, and was provided with office keys and a security card.

Sonata Trakimaite.

While their versions of events differ, the pair commenced a sexual relationship in the weeks after Ms Trakimaite began work under Mr Aubertin.

On September 30 2020, Mr Aubertin sent Ms Trakimaite a text message saying “can I come over for cuddles?”

Ms Trakimaite, initially rejecting his offer, said “lets do it next time. I’m a bit dead after the gym.”

Mr Aubertin: “Your going to regret saying no to me tomorrow ha.”

Ms Trakimaite: “You will punish me.”

Throughout the trial, the court heard that the pair engaged in “playful banter” that was in-keeping with the non-exclusive, consensual nature of their relationship.

But that changed on October 31 2020, when Ms Trakimaite said she was pressured into having sex.

The sexual harassment

Ms Trakimaite alleged that while she was driving home from a study course, Mr Aubertin sent her a message saying “Would you like a little French in you tonight I’m free”.

The pair engaged in a phone call in which Ms Trakimaite rejected Mr Aubertin’s advances, telling him “I just want to rest” ahead of her shift as a waitress later that night.

After hanging up the phone, Ms Trakimaite said Mr Aubertin again texted her, saying: “There are plenty of bitches in Sydney babe.”

“I’m telling you never disrespect me never good night,” he texted.

Ms Trakimaite told the court she called Mr Aubertin again, in which he told her “you’re finished that’s it”.

Richard Aubertin.

“Ms Trakimaite’s evidence was that, given their conversation and Mr Aubertin hanging up on her, she believed that if she did not do what Mr Aubertin wanted he would dismiss her,” the judgment reads.

“She said in cross-examination that it was clear to her that Mr Aubertin had not been speaking about their personal relationship but about her employment. She considered that it was a threat that if she did not go to Mr Aubertin ’s house she would lose her job.

“She said that this exchange was qualitatively different from text messages bantering about sex that they had exchanged a month earlier.”

Eventually, she said, she went over to his home despite telling him “I’m really not comfortable”.

She said he “suddenly carried her to his bed” and she told the court: “As he was lifting my top off I felt scared because I had said no many times to him but he just kept going.”

Ms Trakimaite said she then left for work, and told a colleague: “I am worried about my job, he said if I didn’t have sex he can’t work with me anymore”.

While the couple continued to have a sexual relationship after this, Ms Trakimaite said she was “afraid he might pressure her to have sex or threaten to dismiss her at any time”.

Mr Aubertin denied that he had sexually harassed Ms Trakimaite, and said all sexual conduct “had been consensual and voluntary”.

The Australian can also reveal Mr Aubertin has previously been convicted in WA for forcibly performing oral sex on a different woman, and touching her breasts without her consent.

The abortion

On November 19 2020, Ms Trakimaite said she had unprotected sex with Mr Aubertin. About a month later, she informed him she was pregnant and told him she did not want to get an abortion.

Mr Aubertin was initially supportive of having the baby but, according to court documents, said they should not do so without getting married. “If we are going to have a baby, should we also get married?” he said. “You can move into the house and we build a life together.”

But after Ms Trakimaite got angry with him after discovering he was dating her friend, he changed his tune.

“Sonata don’t ever talk to me like that your on your own I want you to abort this baby your crazy,” he said.

Ms Trakimaite alleged that over December 29 and 30 2020, Mr Aubertin demanded she return her office keys to him and sent her text messages such as: “Your now on your own I want nothing to do with this bulls..t good keep out of my life f..k off”.

He then showed up at her house, banged on her door and demanded she return her office keys.

In January 2021, he asked her for proof of the pregnancy. He told the court he was “constantly in a state of confusion and worry due to Ms Trakimaite’s difficult behaviour”.

Mr Aubertin eventually paid for Ms Trakimaite’s $500 abortion.

In delivering his findings, Judge Cameron said “I have no doubt that Mr Aubertin took advantage of Ms Trakimaite’s relatively vulnerable position to extort her for sex”.

“I conclude that Ms Trakimaite did not have sex with Mr Aubertin on October 31 2020 because she wanted to but because she felt she had to,” he said, describing the encounter as “unwelcome”.

Judge Cameron was not persuaded Mr Aubertin ended Ms Trakimaite’s employment because she was pregnant, but said “her employment appears to have ended as an implicit consequence of the end of the personal relationship”.

He awarded her $25,000 in damages.

When contacted by The Australian, Mr Aubertin said the findings were “disgraceful”.

Additional reporting: Liam Mendes