Retirement village manager accused of raping Toowoomba region resident

A jury heard an elderly woman who said a Darling Downs retirement village manager raped her, and was deluded into thinking she was assaulted due to her vaginitis symptoms and romantic fantasy idealisations.

Retirement village manager accused of raping Toowoomba region resident twice. Picture: Stock

The former co-manager of a Toowoomba region retirement village is on trial for the alleged rape of an elderly resident.

The court heard the frail woman was a virgin and had several health conditions which included severe epilepsy and anorexia.

The man, who is more than a decade younger than the alleged victim, pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape before a jury at the Toowoomba District Court in early July, 2024.

The court heard the man often went into residents’ units for maintenance issues, and the alleged rapes occurred when the man’s co-manager was off-site.

During the Crown’s opening submissions to the jury, prosecutor Emily Coley said the pair were friendly with each other and included alleged intimate incidents between the pair.

However, she said those instances, such as kissing, did not form the basis of any charges, but showed the man had an alleged sexual interest in the woman.

Alleged sex crimes

The woman was allegedly raped in her unit at the retirement village twice, once in her bathroom and once on her bed.

Ms Coley said before the alleged bathroom rape, the man pushed the woman against a wall and pulled down her pants, and despite the woman telling him to stop, he continued.

The man will stand trial before a jury at the Toowoomba District Court in July 2024.

The resident allegedly told the man he was hurting her and she allegedly tried and failed to push him away.

Ms Coley said the man bizarrely then told the woman she ‘needed a haircut,’ before he proceeded to cut the woman’s pubic hair with a pair of scissors against her will.

The following day the man allegedly returned to the unit and told the woman he loved her.

Ms Coley said days later the man again returned to the woman’s unit where he forced her onto a bed, however on that occasion she allegedly experienced more pain and discomfort during the alleged rape.
The following day the man allegedly returned to the unit and told the woman he loved her.

Ms Coley said days later the man again returned to the woman’s unit where he forced her onto a bed, however on that occasion she allegedly experienced more pain and discomfort during the alleged rape.

Former manager takes to the stand

The former manager of the retirement village described the resident as a “schitzo” and repeatedly referred to her as an “attention-seeker” who always needed help with issues in her unit.

He said he never had sex with the woman nor was he interested in her sexually, and that she would often call out to him or run up to him to hug him which he would reject.

On one occasion he said she pinched him on the bottom.

The jury heard the woman was reluctant to go to police to report the alleged assault.

When questioned by the Crown, he confirmed the maintenance issues he was asked to help her with were legitimate things she needed help with, however it occurred often and the issues were sometimes minor such as a CD being jammed in a machine.

He said he would routinely drop off meals to the residents after the kitchen had closed, and the longest he had ever spent in the woman’s unit was about 15 minutes.

He said the resident always closed the screen door and wooden door.

Neighbour heard weeping through walls

The court heard from several witnesses including the woman’s doctor and sister, hospital staff, other residents who lived at the retirement village, and the man’s wife.

When the man’s wife took to the stand, she said when she was at the retirement village the alleged rape victim was friendly with her husband and often excited to see him.

When the woman’s neighbour gave her evidence, she said she saw the manager go into the woman’s unit through the front door at least nine times, and the last three or four times he had left the unit, she heard the woman “weeping” through their shared wall.

She said she was concerned when she heard the weeping and regretted not checking in on her.

When asked by the man’s barrister why she did not tell police about the weeping in her police statement, she said she had a lot on her mind as she was grappling with the allegations while her husband was dying in hospice.

The jury also heard the neighbour would only close her screen door, however the neighbour noticed the heavy wooden door was closed the last three or four times the man visited.

The court heard the Darling Downs retirement village provided homes for elderly people who were able to live independently.

Underlying health issues often lead to vaginal bleeding

The court heard in the days and weeks following the alleged rape, a number of doctor and hospital visits resulted in the woman being diagnosed with atrophic vaginitis, thrush, and herpes.

The woman’s medical records stated she had bleeding and tears to her vagina and the Crown told the jury it did not rely on that as evidence of rape given her diagnoses.

The Crown said the bleeding and labia tears could easily be attributed to atrophic vaginitis which can result in bleeding and make vaginal skin thinner and prone to injury.

A Toowoomba region practitioner who had been the resident’s doctor for at least three decades was the first of many medical professionals who examined the woman’s vulva in the days and weeks following the alleged rape.

Woman allegedly “boasted” about sex

In his evidence, the practitioner told the court the woman’s vaginal walls were heavily stained with old and fresh blood.

He said he used a metal speculum to open the woman’s vagina, which both the Crown and defence agreed could have caused the fresh blood.

He said he did not see any physical injuries to her vulva and treated her for a suspected urinary tract infection and an estrogen cream for atrophic vaginitis.

During cross-examination, the doctor said the resident told him she had met a man at “the club” and had sex, and when asked to clarify, she “proudly” said she had penetrative sex with a man.

Around the same time the woman was examined by her doctor, a friend at the retirement village told her to go to hospital after she confided in her that a man had forced himself onto her and it hurt to sit down and urinate.

When the woman was discharged from hospital, she stayed with a friend until her sister arrived in the Darling Downs. The pair then returned to the village for about a week while they packed up the unit.

She was admitted to the hospital where she rang her sister and told her of the alleged rape and who the alleged offender was.

When a social worker from the hospital took the stand she said the woman was reluctant to give her a name, and when asked if she could inform the manager of the complex, she responded that the alleged offender was the manager.

The Crown said during a hospital examination, a doctor noted her vulva was swollen and that her inflamed cervix bled when swabbed.

About a week later a sexual health nurse examined the woman’s vulva and noted bruising to her vaginal walls, and tears to her labia.

As a result of swabs taken, she was then diagnosed with herpes simplex virus one and thrush, which she alleged was given to her by the manager, however that claim was not a part of the Crown’s evidence.

Alleged romantic idealisations

In his closing remarks to the jury on Thursday, July 11, barrister Stephen Kissick said his client showed himself as a kind, honest, and diligent worker who went the “extra mile” for the residents.

Mr Kissick said he would not go as far as to say the woman had lied, rather she had romanticised the man and created a fantasy relationship in her mind.

He said the woman’s account of time frames had changed and that she only began speaking of an alleged rape after doctors referred to her vaginal issues.

In the Crown’s closing submissions, Ms Coley told the jury if they were to find the man guilty they needed to accept the woman’s account of the rapes as being honest and reliable.

She said the woman’s account of the alleged rape was consistence with what she told other witnesses, and said the man had told her not to tell anyone about their alleged relationship.

Ms Coley disputed the woman had created a fantasy, noting she said she felt afraid, gutless, and horrible during the alleged painful acts which showed no sign of romanticism.

She said when the woman gave her evidence she was straightforward and restrained when talking about the rape and she showed genuine emotion when recounting the pain she felt.

She noted the palpable anger the woman showed when the fantasy allegation was put to her by Mr Kissick was consistent with a genuine reaction from a rape victim who was being challenged after having to recount a brutish and painful assault.

Jury to deliberate verdict

Judge Benedict Power KC gave his closing address and summary of the case to the jury at 2.15pm on day three of the trial, Thursday, July 2024.
The 12 jury members are expected to will return their verdict before Friday night, July 12.