Carr, 66, was granted a temporary suppression order on mental health grounds but that was lifted on Monday when his lawyers withdrew an application to have his name suppressed on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n
It means the high-profile men who spoke glowingly of his character during the trial can be named, too.<\/p>\n
They are Marcus Clarke KC, a barrister who served on the board of the Carlton Football Club, and Adrian Marchesani, a former Ralph Carr Management employee.<\/p>\n
On July 21, both men were called as witnesses for the defence.<\/p>\n
Mr Clarke said he \u201cmet (Carr) when I was elected to the board of the Carlton Football Club 2007\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Clarke and Carr were both on the board together for a period of 12-18 months and became \u201cfriendly\u201d, the Victorian County Court heard last month.<\/p>\n
They maintained contact after Carr left the board<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we had a common interest in football. We\u2019d go to the football together and we\u2019d socialise in a sense that we would \u2014 he would attend the president\u2019s lunch and that was a function that took place an hour and a half prior to the start of the match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr, who was a prominent player manager and represented Richmond superstar Dustin Martin, would \u201ccatch up for coffee\u201d some mornings with Mr Clarke, the barrister told the court.<\/p>\n
The pair remained in regular contact, catching up monthly. When asked if he had seen Carr acting \u201cinappropriately towards women\u201d, Mr Clarke replied \u201cNot at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s respectful to everyone, women, he\u2019s just very decent. Very honest and very decent,\u201d Mr Clarke told the court.<\/p>\n
The prominent barrister said he became aware of the allegations against Carr when the now convicted rapist \u201crang me up and said he\u2019d just been charged with rape\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Asked again by Carr\u2019s lawyer how he viewed Carr\u2019s treatment of women, Mr Clarke said: \u201cHe\u2019s just an honourable character. Never, never even raised his temper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under cross examination, Mr Clarke said he was aware of the details of the charges, including that Carr was facing digital rape and penile rape allegations, Mr Clarke said: \u201cRalph told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Marchesani also took the stand on July 21. The entertainment industry consultant said he met Carr in 1998 when he joined RCM. The pair worked together until 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, during your time that you worked with Mr Carr at the office in Richmond, did he employ women,\u201d Mr Marchesani was asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he replied. \u201cI think they were pretty much all women except Ralph and myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that time, were there social events attended by members of the staff, that were hosted by the organisation, Mr Carr\u2019s organisation?\u201d Mr Marchesani was asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, each sort of social\/work \u2014 like, for instance, if we signed a new act, Ralph would take everyone out for dinner and we would do the record signing with most of the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if he ever observed Carr acting inappropriately with any of his female staff, Mr Marchesani replied: \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Carr\u2019s character, Mr Marchesani said: \u201cHe\u2019s a very committed person to work. I don\u2019t think he has many interests outside of work. He likes football, but he managed to turn that into work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what are you able to say in relation to whether he does or doesn\u2019t act respectfully towards others?\u201d Mr Marchesani was asked. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he acts respectfully towards pretty much everyone. I mean, it\u2019s a business where you have to be on everyone\u2019s side to proceed. So he will be direct in his dealings with … people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Marchesani was asked by lawyers for the prosecution whether he knew what the trial was about and what Carr was accused of. \u201cYes … it\u2019s about sexual … rape and sexual assault,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Carr, a high-profile business figure who rose to prominence in the 1990s managing singer-songwriter Tina Arena, who he later married for four years, was granted the suppression order after judicial officers accepted evidence that his psychological condition would suffer if he was named.<\/p>\n
His psychiatrist, Jacqueline Rakov, had previously given evidence he posed a risk to himself and the charges had resulted in a deterioration in his mental state.<\/p>\n
Previously, a court was told Carr had once commented to his psychiatrist; \u201cIf I\u2019m guilty put me on the front page\u201d, however a judge cautioned this seemed like a \u201cthrowaway line\u201d.<\/p>\n
Carr reacted emotionally and with visual shock on July 28 as the jury unanimously found him guilty of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, throwing himself back in his chair before bowing forward with his mouth open.<\/p>\n
Earlier, prior to the jury\u2019s return to court, he had been sitting rigidly, with his eyes closed and his hands firmly gripping his thighs.<\/p>\n
During the trial, jurors were told Carr raped the woman, several decades his junior, in 2023 after they met at his home to discuss work opportunities, including on an autobiography he was planning.<\/p>\n
The pair spent the evening drinking and consuming cocaine, where the woman said she became emotional and confided in him about a relationship breakdown.<\/p>\n
She said Carr hugged her and said he would \u201ctake care of her\u201d, before kissing her and sexually touching her.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Matthew Fisher told the court the woman pushed him away saying; \u201cI don\u2019t want this\u201d, while Carr was allegedly saying words like; \u201cyou\u2019re so sexy\u201d, \u201cI can\u2019t stop\u201d and \u201cI need your help to sleep, help me\u201d.<\/p>\n
While the woman was crying into a pillow, Carr reached down her pants and penetrated her with his fingers.<\/p>\n
He then took off his pants and raped her with his penis before she punched him in the face.<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of the trial, Mr Fisher said that while there had been gaps and inconsistencies in the woman\u2019s account, she was \u201cconsistent and adamant\u201d about what had happened.<\/p>\n
The jury heard the woman first reached out to Carr via LinkedIn after learning he had a role available at his company Ralph Carr Management.<\/p>\n
After Carr raped her, the court was told she stayed at his home for several hours and her mother text messages about what had happened \u2013 with her mother urging her to leave and contact the police.<\/p>\n
Despite initial reluctance to get police involved, she later changed her mind and reported the rape, with police arriving at Carr\u2019s home at about 3.40am.<\/p>\n
His legal team have said Carr maintains his innocence and will be both appealing the verdict and seeking a stay of sentence.<\/p>\n
He will return to court on Friday for a mention ahead of pre-sentence hearing expected to run later this month.<\/p>\n
\u2014 with NewsWire<\/p>\n