Alleged rape victim ‘could have done a lot better’ if she had made up claims against well-connected Melbourne man, court told | Victoria

A woman who accused a well-connected Melbourne man of rape “could have done a much better job” if she had been making up the story for money, a Melbourne court has heard.

The unnamed man faces two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault and pleaded not guilty in Victoria’s district court.

The alleged offenses occurred in March 2023 after the woman, the defendant’s former personal assistant, said she spent an evening with him drinking, taking cocaine, listening to music and watching football.

The prosecution claimed that the woman was at her home when the man tried to kiss her and sexually assaulted her. According to information heard earlier in the hearing, it was claimed that he then raped her twice.

The defendant did not testify during the hearing and the alleged victim testified in closed court.

The man’s lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, told the court the alleged attack never happened.

In his final speech to the jury, prosecutor Matthew Fisher said the case consisted of six key issues.

These included the complainant’s evidence; what happened immediately after the alleged incident, including the fact that the defendant was at his home when the police arrived and was captured talking to them via a body-worn camera; and his alleged reason for lying.

Fisher said trauma does “strange things” to memory, and accounts of sexual assault often differ. However, he said the complainant did not hesitate to describe what happened to him in the statements he gave to his mother, the police and the doctor within 24 hours of the alleged incident.

He said the jury might think there was some “complexity” in his personality given the demeanor he showed while giving evidence, but that didn’t mean he was lying about the allegations.

“I accept that there were some gaps in his evidence, some differences, some inconsistencies; he was cross-examined about all of that for several hours,” Fisher said.

“Mr Dann is a very experienced lawyer, a very good lawyer.

“Despite all this cross-examination, he remained adamant about the alleged crime: ‘This happened. This is what he did to me.'”

These inconsistencies actually underscore the alleged victim’s veracity, Fisher said.

“If he really wanted to make up for all of this… he could have done a better job. He could have done a lot better,” he said.

“If this…had been part of a master plan to get the defendant into trouble or get some money from him, it would have been clear and consistent from beginning to end.

“The existence of some gaps or inconsistencies…increases its credibility.”

Fisher said the complainant’s interactions with other witnesses, including an old friend and two friends of the defendant who spent part of the night before the alleged incident with them, were also an important aspect of the case.

Another issue was the complainant’s relationship with the police. The court heard on Tuesday from two police officers who attended when the complainant was pulled over for drink driving in 2019.

The complainant accused one of the officers of telling her, “I like getting little whores like you out of the way,” in a complaint filed with police in 2022.

Both officers declined to comment Tuesday. The complainant cited this previous experience with the police on the night of the alleged rape as a reason why she did not want to report the matter to the authorities, despite her mother’s insistence.

Fisher criticized the evidence of senior officer Det Sen Cons David Barlow, saying it was “loose” and “inaccurate” and that the jury could find he made the comment to the complainant.

Even though Dann accused the complainant of repeatedly lying under oath, he said Barlow was the one the jury should have found to have lied.

“One of them is lying under oath,” Fisher said.

In his opening statement to the court, Dann stated that the complainant’s allegations against the police were unfounded.

The trial continues.