A prominent individual’s son has been convicted of raping a woman at his residence.
He had pleaded not guilty to the two charges of rape, leading to a trial in the Victorian County Court.
After less than two days of deliberations, the jury delivered their verdict today.
According to the prosecution, the assault took place in the early hours of January 14, 2024, when he sexually assaulted his friend’s girlfriend at his Melbourne home.
Evidence presented in court revealed that the woman had engaged in consensual intercourse with her boyfriend at the property. However, he arranged for an Uber and departed shortly before 2 a.m.
The convicted man misled the woman, falsely claiming her boyfriend’s return was imminent due to a canceled Uber ride.
It was the offender who went into the dark bedroom a short time later and pretended to be the woman’s boyfriend before digitally raping her twice.
In the days after, the man doctored an Uber receipt to allegedly make it look like the complainant’s boyfriend had left the house after 2.30am.
The man admitted forging the receipt but said he did so because he panicked after being falsely accused of rape.
Crown prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams told the jury the man had told a series of lies to try and deflect blame.
He urged the jury to ignore the man’s denials and instead believe the alleged victim, who had given clear, consistent and convincing evidence.
Defence barrister David Hallowes SC argued his client was telling the truth and it was possible the woman’s mind was playing tricks on her.
The jury retired to begin deliberations at 3pm on Wednesday after hearing seven days of evidence and legal argument.
The 12 jurors returned their guilty verdicts shortly after midday on Friday.
The man slumped in his seat with his head in his hands as the verdicts were delivered, while his mother cried in court.
