A high-profile Australian businessman facing rape and sexual assault charges has had his alleged controversial response to his former personal assistant’s accusation aired publicly during his ongoing trial at the County Court. The defendant, whose identity remains protected by a court-ordered suppression order, has entered a plea of not guilty to two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, stemming from an alleged incident in 2023.
Prosecutors have laid out their case against the accused, arguing that the businessman, who is decades older than his accuser, assaulted the woman after the pair met to discuss her potential return to work for him. The meeting followed a prior period of employment during which prosecutors say the woman repeatedly rejected his romantic and sexual advances. Before the alleged assault, the two had spent an evening drinking, watching an Australian Football League match at a friend’s home, and using cocaine, according to prosecution claims.
Following the alleged attack, the woman confronted the defendant, calling him a rapist and punching him in the face. In that confrontation, the businessman is claimed by prosecutors to have responded, “it’s not rape, I was using my fingers,” while also complaining that the punch had broken his nose.
The trial resumed in open court on Friday after multiple days of closed hearings held to allow the alleged victim to give her evidence in private. Law enforcement officers took the stand to recount their response to the initial report of the incident, which came in the early hours of the morning when the woman’s mother contacted police after receiving distressing text messages from her daughter.
Detective Senior Constable James Redman told the jury he first contacted the woman at 2:51 a.m., at which point she declined to share details of what had happened, only confirming she was hiding safely in a spare bedroom at the property. Roughly an hour later, the woman called back to change her mind, and Redman attended the home with two other officers. Redman told the court the accused did not appear to be impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of their arrival, describing him as a “very charming, charismatic man.” The defendant also told investigators he had previously employed the woman, that she had occasionally stayed overnight at his home in the past, and that he had repeatedly offered to call her a ride home on the night of the incident. Redman added that the defendant did not show any visible signs of injury consistent with the reported punch to the face.
Senior Constable Jordan Frizell, who spoke with the woman after officers arrived, testified that she appeared visibly intoxicated and impaired by substances when first interviewed.
Multiple witnesses also took the stand on Friday to lay out context for the encounter between the defendant and his accuser. A close friend of the accused and his wife told the court the pair had visited their home earlier that same evening to watch the AFL match, leaving around 10:30 p.m. The friend recalled that at one point during the game, the woman rested her left hand on the defendant’s thigh, and he made no move to respond to the gesture. He added that the woman appeared happy and relaxed for the entirety of the visit, and that the defendant had fallen asleep toward the end of the match before being woken up for the pair to leave.
A former friend of the alleged victim also gave evidence, telling the jury the two had a falling out while the woman was employed by the defendant. The former friend said the accuser had become extremely upset when she refused to facilitate an introduction between the defendant and her, sharing a text message from the woman that read, “F–k you, I’ve been so supportive and never asked for anything in return, this meant a lot to me.” Under cross-examination by the defense, the witness denied ever telling the accuser that she felt unsafe around the defendant, and also denied claims that she had regularly socialized and drunk alcohol with him.
In opening remarks to the jury, prosecutor Matthew Fisher explained that the woman first began working for the defendant several years before the alleged incident, and repeatedly turned down his sexual advances before ultimately leaving her role. Fisher told the court the woman had explicitly stated to the defendant, “I don’t want that to be the role I play in your life, I’m not sexually attracted to you. I don’t want to have sex with you, the sooner you understand this the better.”
According to Fisher, the defendant eventually extended a new work offer to the woman, telling her he “missed you not being around,” which prompted the meeting to discuss the role on the night of the incident. After returning from the friend’s home, Fisher said the defendant began kissing and touching the woman against her will, even after she pushed him away and told him she did not consent. Prosecutors claim the defendant continued his advances, telling the woman “you’re so sexy,” “I can’t stop,” and “I need your help to sleep, help me,” before raping her with his fingers and penis.
Around 30 minutes after the alleged assault, the woman approached the defendant to discuss moving past the incident, but fled and slammed a door shut when he reportedly began masturbating in front of her, Fisher added.
Defense barrister Dermot Dann KC, representing the accused, has refuted all prosecution claims, saying his client denies using cocaine and never made any unwanted sexual advances toward the woman. Dann told the jury the defendant was actually trying to convince the woman to return home on the night in question, and that she appeared determined to stay at his property. He also pointed to text messages the woman sent her mother that referenced “recompense” and “trying to resolve things,” and noted that the prosecution’s case relies entirely on accepting the accuser as a credible and truthful witness, a claim the defense disputes.
The trial before the County Court is ongoing.
