A high-end Brisbane hairdresser has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted multiple former employees at a “glamorous” salon, which he claims had a “highly sexualised” workplace culture.
Dmitri Stelios Papas, 49, is standing trial at Brisbane District Court this week accused of sexually assaulting three former employees and raping another.
The women all worked in various roles at the “glamorous” and “high end” former hair salon.
Papas has pleaded not guilty to six historical counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.
Barrister Saul Holt told the jury in his opening submissions on Monday that the salon – where three of the women claim to have been assaulted by Papas – had a “highly sexualised” workplace culture.
“The physical affection, including sexualised comments and conduct, was between everybody at this workplace”, he said.
“…You’ll hear about kissing, cuddling, tickling, bottom-touching, explicit jokes, videos, photographs, and even see some of those things in this trial.”
Mr Holt said Papas’s relationship with the salon’s co-owner Justin Pace broke down following sexual allegations made by one of the women.
The woman alleges that Papas touched her inappropriately while she was dancing during a night out in Fortitude Valley, where multiple staff members were present.
Mr Holt told the jury the woman had “probably lied” about what happened that night, and said her lies had then “cascaded”, “poisoned”, and “multiplied”.
“The partnership fell apart because (the woman)… complained to many, many people,” Mr Holt said.
“Everything in this case, members of the jury, flows from that event.”
The jury heard Papas and Mr Pace now run separate hair salons in competition with each other.
Mr Holt said the jury would also hear evidence from a young former employee, who claimed Papas sexually assaulted her on her first day of work by pressing his body against hers from behind.
“It did not happen, and it could not have happened,” Mr Holt said.
He said the evidence of another woman, who claimed to have been raped and sexually assaulted by Papas at the salon, was “grossly unreliable”.
Crown prosecutor Joshua Francis said the jury would hear evidence about how that woman had messaged her mother telling her: “I just finished work, went to leave, and Dmitri literally bent me over and pretended to bang me”.
She further alleges Papas digitally raped her in the backrooms of the salon.
The fourth woman claimed Papas had touched her breast when she worked at the salon, but she did not speak to police until some years later when a different complainant reached out to her, the jury was told.
Mr Holt accused that different complainant of “rewriting history” and “rallying others to her cause”.
Mr Francis said the jury would hear evidence that the complainant with the oldest allegations had told her mother about the alleged sexual assault on her shortly after she claims it occurred, however.
Mr Francis said the prosecution case relied on similarities between the women’s claims – including allegations Papas had touched the women suddenly, at work, and often from behind.
“You may hear suggestions that this was all part of a workplace culture, or misunderstanding,” he said.
“…But the Crown case, in summary, is that the defendant engaged in sexual physical conduct with female employees without their consent in circumstances arising from or connected with the workplace.”
The trial is expected to continue throughout the week, with one of the complainants expected to give evidence on Monday afternoon.