Victoria Police lack of staffing ‘meant no rape charges’

Victoria Police delayed charging an alleged rapist for three years due to ‘staffing changes’, a court has heard.

Victoria Police delayed charging an alleged rapist for three years due to “staffing changes”, a court has heard.

Victorian Supreme Court judge Paul Coghlan granted bail to Marco Gastello despite noting evidence to “suggest that he has continued to offend” in the three years before police charged him.

Victoria Police declined to comment. “As the matter is before the court, it wouldn’t be appropriate to provide comment at this time,” a spokeswoman said.

Mr Gastello, 41, was charged in June this year with two counts of rape, administering an intox­icating substance for a sexual purpose and sexual assault.

He was refused bail by the Melbourne Magistrates Court before appealing against the decision­ to the Supreme Court.

It is alleged he raped a woman from Thailand in 2017. The woman alleges the pair were drinking before she fell asleep and woke the next day in Mr Gastello’s bedroom.

“(She) initially could not remember how she came to be in (Mr Gastello’s) bed, however, has since reported that she recalls­ the applicant dragging her to his bedroom by her wrists,” Justice Coghlan said in his reasons published last week.

It is alleged the woman found a white powdery substance in her glass the next day, as well as bruises on her body. She report­ed the matter to police and underwent a medical exam, which found DNA likely to be Mr Gastello’s. A urine test and a sample from the glass also detected oxazepam, a sedative with mild amnesiac effects.

Justice Coghlan said a search of the apartment found a container of Temazepam, which is metabolised by the body into oxazepam­.

Mr Gastello’s wife, who he separated from in 2014, told police he had naked photos of her which she didn’t give him permission to take. He was arrested and gave a “no comment’’ interview on the allegations.

“Whilst it was intended that the applicant be charged with sexual offences at that stage of the investigation, due to staffing changes within Victoria Police, those charges did not progress,” Justice Coghlan said.

In opposing the recent bail application, prosecutors submitted the allegations involved “predatory behaviour” and Mr Gastello had continued to target young Asian women.

They said despite the arrest and intervention in 2017, photos on Mr Gastello’s phone “suggest that he has continued to offend in the intervening period”.

Prosecutors said any other potential victims were unlikely to report to police due to cultural and language barriers.

In applying for bail, Mr Gastello’s counsel relied on the three-year delay as well as a further delay of a trial to 2022 due to COVID-19. Justice Coghlan accepted­ the delays were “significant”. “The … applicant has been at large for the last three years and in that time, there is no evidence that he has reoffended,” he said, granting bail.