A man from a high-profile Victorian family slumped back in his seat and covered his face as a jury found him guilty of raping a woman last year.
Warning: This story contains content that may be distressing to some readers.
The jury’s verdict left the man’s family stunned — his mother began sobbing loudly and his girlfriend needed treatment for shock.
He was taken into custody and will face court on December 12 for a pre-sentence hearing.
During the trial, the victim testified that she was in a dark bedroom when the man snuck in, climbed into bed and digitally raped her in January 2024.
Prosecutors alleged he then took steps to cover his tracks, feigning innocence and doctoring an Uber receipt to create doubts that his friend was the perpetrator.
After the verdict, Judge Greg Lyon said there had been “a chain of conscious and deliberate conduct afterwards which added to the seriousness of the offending.” Â
At the start of the trial the man pleaded not guilty, with his lawyers telling the County Court the woman “got it wrong”.
However the jury delivered guilty verdicts on two rape charges following a day of deliberations. The man now faces the prospect of a years-long jail sentence.
The case has been shrouded in secrecy since charges were laid in mid-2024.
Suppression orders have prevented the media naming the accused man and publishing details about his well-known family.
By extension, the suppression order also covered the accused man’s girlfriend and his friend, who were key witnesses in the trial.
The victim could not be named due to laws that prevent sex crime complainants being identified without consent.
The man’s parents made no comment as they left court.
Prosecutors describe rape ‘through deception’
For this story, the ABC will use pseudonyms for the four key people in the case:
John, the man on trialSarah, his girlfriendRyan, the accused man’s friendChloe, the complainant
The trial centred around events early on January 14, 2024 when the group were at John’s house.
The court heard that after a night of drinking, John and Sarah went to bed, while Ryan and Chloe had consensual sex in another bedroom.
Chloe said Ryan left the room, intending to catch an Uber home.
Prosecutors alleged John then opened the door to Chloe’s room and told her Ryan’s Uber had been cancelled and Ryan would be back “in a couple of minutes”.
But the Crown alleged it was John — and not Ryan — who returned to the darkened room. He allegedly climbed into bed with Chloe and digitally penetrated her without consent.
The ABC is not able to identify the accused man due to a non-publication order. (ABC News: Dylan Anderson)
Chloe told the man to stop, suspecting it was John. However John pretended to be his friend, the prosecutors alleged.
Chloe said she felt and saw John’s distinctive long hair and that he fled the room, after she told him, “I know it’s you”. John later re-entered the room and asked Chloe, “What happened?”.
Prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams described the attack as a rape “through deception”.
For more than a day in closed court, Chloe gave evidence and was cross-examined by the defence.
John’s barrister David Hallowes SC said Chloe “got it wrong” and told the jury his client was innocent.
John decided to step into the witness box and testify, telling the jury he never raped Chloe.
“I never went in that room,” he said.
Ryan also denied returning to the room after having consensual sex with Chloe.
He testified that after leaving the bedroom, he moved his car out of a driveway and then got an Uber to his parents’ house at 1:58am.
At 2:15am, Chloe texted Ryan, “Are you still here?”. Soon after he replied, saying he was at home.
Accused to remain in custody until sentencing
It left the jury with a key issue to ponder — if Chloe was raped, did the evidence show beyond reasonable doubt that John was responsible?
Chloe was adamant she had been raped and that her attacker was John, the court heard.
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She sent numerous messages to friends, including to John’s girlfriend, Sarah.
“I really don’t wanna [sic] have to say this I love you but [John] assaulted me last night,” she wrote.
“After [John] left he came into the room I was in and pretended to be [Ryan]. I told him to stop but he pinned me down and kept doing stuff to me even though I told him to stop.”
The court heard Sarah quizzed her boyfriend about the serious accusations.
John said he “panicked” and in a bid to convince his girlfriend he was innocent, doctored Ryan’s Uber receipt to make it appear as if his friend stayed in the house longer than he had.
“I guess that fake Uber receipt was just to show that it wasn’t me that went into that room,” he said.
In the witness box, John denied the forgery was intended to shift blame to Ryan.
John’s defence barrister David Hallowes returned to the forged Uber receipt when closing his case to the jury.
“It’s a stupid lie but it’s not a lie that shows he’s guilty,” Mr Hallowes said.
But Mr McWilliams, for the prosecution, told jurors John was not a truthful witness.
“The only reason he’s conducted himself in the way that he has is because he’s guilty of raping [Chloe],” he said.
At the end of Friday’s hearing, Judge Lyon rejected a request from John’s lawyers for him to remain on bail while awaiting sentencing.
In Victoria the maximum penalty for rape is 25 years, with the charge carrying a standard sentence of 10 years.