A well-known businessman has been found guilty of raping a woman decades his junior.
The high-profile man was on Tuesday morning found guilty of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault following a two-week trial in Melbourne.
As the jury delivered guilty verdicts on all charges, the man pushed his body back in his seat and hung his head low with his mouth agape – appearing visibly emotional.
His identity has been covered by suppression orders for more than three years, barring media from publishing details including his name, age and industry.
The suppression order was due to end at the end of his trial; however, his solicitors have sought an extension in the trial’s final days.
A hearing is scheduled on the matter later on Tuesday.
During the trial, jurors were told the man raped a woman in 2023 after they met at his home to discuss work opportunities.
The pair spent the afternoon and evening drinking alcohol and consuming cocaine before the man began to kiss and touch the woman.
Prosecutor Matthew Fisher told the court the woman pushed him away saying, “I don’t want this”, while the man allegedly responded, “You’re so sexy”, “I can’t stop” and “I need your help to sleep, help me”.
He then raped the woman with his fingers and penis before she punched him in the face.
At the end of the trial, Mr Fisher said there had been gaps and inconsistencies in the woman’s account, but she was “consistent and adamant” about what had happened.
“You should accept her as an honest and genuine witness,” he said.
“And accept my argument the accused man took complete advantage of her when she was alone and isolated in his house affected by alcohol and drugs.”
Through his barrister Dermot Dann KC, the accused man vehemently disputed the sexual assault or rapes occurred.
He argued the woman had a financial motive to lie, pointing to evidence that she had hired lawyers to pursue a civil claim and told people “I’m going to take this man for all that he’s worth”.
The jury heard the woman first reached out to the accused man via LinkedIn after learning there was a job opportunity at his company.
In the months that followed, he allegedly made a number of sexual advances towards the woman, but she rebuffed him.
“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,” she allegedly said.
In 2023, the court was told the pair were in email contact, with the accused man asking her to help him “work on my book”.
The pair met at his home to discuss the role before allegedly beginning to drink alcohol and consume cocaine.
Later, the jury heard, the woman accompanied the man to the home of a friend of his, where they watched an AFL game, before leaving about 10.30pm.
Back at his apartment, the woman said they continued to use cocaine and drink alcohol before the rapes occurred.
The accused man was remanded into custody and will return to court at a later date.
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