{"id":59717,"date":"2026-07-28T02:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T02:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/59717\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T02:08:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T02:08:06","slug":"well-connected-melbourne-businessman-found-guilty-of-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/59717\/","title":{"rendered":"Well-connected Melbourne businessman found guilty of rape"},"content":{"rendered":"

A well-connected Melbourne businessman has been found guilty of rape and has been taken into custody.<\/p>\n

A County Court jury delivered the verdicts today, finding beyond reasonable doubt that the man raped and sexually assaulted a woman at his home on March 23, 2023.<\/p>\n

The man now faces the prospect of years in jail and will be sentenced at a later date.<\/p>\n

Because of an ongoing suppression order, the ABC is unable to name the man or disclose information about the industries he works in or is connected to.<\/p>\n

The County Court has also banned media outlets from running a pixelated photo of the man.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for media outlets, including the ABC, are set to argue for the gag order to be lifted later today, at a hearing before Judge Frank Gucciardo.<\/p>\n

The rape trial centred on events at the man’s house<\/a>, following a night where he and the complainant had been drinking alcohol and, according to the prosecution, taking cocaine.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors alleged that he sexually assaulted the woman in his bedroom, with the attack coming to a halt when she punched him in the face.<\/p>\n

The man denied the allegations<\/a>, and also refuted claims that he made numerous unwanted sexual advances towards the woman in the months leading up to the night in question.<\/p>\n

With no eyewitnesses, lawyers for the prosecution and defence agreed the case hinged on the credibility of the complainant.<\/p>\n

The woman, who is several decades younger than the businessman, spent days in the witness box giving evidence during the trial.<\/p>\n

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