Chilling note made after alleged rape by former Socceroo revealed in court

A note made in a woman’s phone and a series of text messages have been examined by a jury in a rape trial involving a former Socceroo.

The chilling note a woman made in her phone after she was allegedly raped by a former Socceroo has been revealed in court.

Ruon Tongyik, 28, appeared in the Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday with his co-accused and school friend, Mardochee Manirakiza, often known as “Dosh”.

Both men have been charged with two counts each of sexual intercourse without consent.

They have pleaded not guilty.

Police allege Mr Tongyik and Mr Manirakiza sexually assaulted a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, knowingly having non-consensual intercourse with her at Mount Druitt in Sydney’s west in November 2018.

Crown prosecutor Emma Curran delivered her closing address on Tuesday before Justice Lara Gallagher and referenced evidence provided by the alleged victim.

Some nine minutes after the alleged rape, the court was told the woman made a note in her phone while still at Mr Tongyik’s apartment.

It read: “Ruon Tongyik and Dosh raped and killed me.”

The court was told how the alleged victim said she went into “survival mode” and then messaged a friend asking for help.

Former Socceroo Ruon Tongyik is on trial for rape. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

“Now these pieces of evidence would satisfy you that what (the victim) says occurred did occur, and that is that both accused men had non-consensual sexual intercourse with her,” Ms Curran told the court.

“Both accused men had no basis to believe that she was consenting to any sexual activity.

“You would be satisfied members of the jury that she was scared.”

Ms Curran had previously told the court that Mr Tongyik and the woman began talking over social media in 2017.

A year later, in November 2018, the woman travelled to Sydney to watch Mr Tongyik’s team, the Western Sydney Wanderers, play a match against Newcastle.

Mr Tongyik then asked the woman if she wanted to meet at his Mt Druitt unit, the court was told.

The Crown alleges the woman attended and had drinks with Mr Tongyik before having consensual sex.

Mr Manirakiza then came over that same night and the three started taking multiple shots and playing truth or dare, Ms Curran told the court.

Mr Tongyik denies the charges. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

After multiple shots, the woman says she blacked out and when she came to she was lying naked on a bed and the two men were sexually assaulting her, the Crown alleges.

‘SHE WAS SCARED’

Ms Curran told the court that during the alleged assault the slats on the bed broke, and the two accused began laughing.

While they were laughing, the woman “had an opportunity to leave” and grabbed her leggings and left the room, the Crown alleges.

“ She was upset … she was scared … and she was crying … she wasn’t sure what she was going to do … and he (Mr Tongyik) came out and told her she was fine and that she had wanted it,” Ms Curran said.

Later that evening, the Crown alleges, Mr Tongyik posted an image of himself and his co-accused to his private Instagram account with the caption ”tag team”, of which the woman took a screenshot.

The woman alleges Mr Tongyik was “bragging” about the incident.

The woman sent a screenshot of the post to a friend, the Crown alleges, along with a message that read: “Are you f***ing kidding. He let his friend rape me and he’s laughing about it.”

However, Mr Tongyik told the court that the post had no relation to the night of the alleged incident and said it instead referred to he and Mr Manirakiza playing two versus two football matches together.

Nearly two years later, on June 2020, Mr Tongyik was selected for the Australian Olympic team to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

‘TWITTER RAMPAGE’

The court was told the woman became aware of his selection after watching news reports and took to Twitter to share a post that read: “Love finding out my rapist is representing Australia, even when he laughed about the incident at the time.”

Following the social media posts, the woman was asked by Mr Tongyik’s legal counsel to cease posting.

“Those tweets put a cat among the pigeons,” Ms Curran told the court.

Football Australia launched a confidential investigation after the woman publicised her allegations, the court was told.

Mr Tongyik was subsequently dropped from the Olympic team on a no-fault stand-down policy.

After finding out about Mr Tongyik’s signing with the Central Coast Mariners in August 2021, the woman went on “what can only be described as a Twitter rampage”, Ms Curran said in her closing statement.

“I’m shaking, I’m livid, I feel like crying, I feel like screaming, what the actual f**k,” one post read.

The alleged victim had been in contact with Football Australia at this point, Ms Curran said, before adding: “No one had told her he was about to be rewarded by signing to an A-League club.”

Mr Tongyik was charged in August 2023 and Mr Manirakiza was charged in March 2024.

Defence barrister Georgia Huxley previously argued in her opening submissions that the woman was a willing participant, and while it was not disputed that the two men and the women were at the unit on the night, they would dispute the Crown’s allegations of what took place inside.

“What is in dispute is what occurred inside the unit while she was there,” she told the court.

The trial continues.

Originally published as Chilling note made after alleged rape by former Socceroo revealed in court