Celebrity agent Ralph Carr\u2019s convictions for raping a woman are an \u201cobvious\u201d miscarriage of justice, his lawyer has told a court.<\/p>\n
The 66-year-old, full name Ralph Carnovale-Carr, was found guilty of sexually assaulting and twice raping a woman in her 20s following a jury trial last month in the County Court of Victoria.<\/p>\n
During the trial, jurors heard Carr met the woman, who he\u2019d known previously, in early 2023 to discuss work opportunities at his company Ralph Carr Management and sexually assaulted her in his home after a night spent drinking and using cocaine. <\/p>\n
The high-profile sports and entertainment manager returned to court this week as his legal team argued his sentence should be stayed, or put on hold, pending an appeal against the verdict. <\/p>\n
Defence barrister Dermot Dann KC argued anyone who heard the victim\u2019s evidence \u201cshould be very concerned, very, very uncomfortable about the guilty verdicts\u201d.<\/p>\n
He argued that anyone who was comfortable with the verdict \u201chas lost sight of what justice is\u201d. <\/p>\n
Mr Dann said in 35 years as a trial barrister this was the first time he\u2019d applied for a stay of sentence for sexual offending.<\/p>\n
The court was told that if granted, this may be the first time in Victoria a rape charge had been stayed. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the most obvious miscarriage of justice I\u2019ve ever seen in all that time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe make no apologies for bringing the application, we make no apologies for appealing the verdicts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a man who maintains his innocence \u2026 a man who is going through hell in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Judge Frank Gucciardo said he was not sure it was appropriate for Mr Dann to express the personal opinion and may be \u201coverstating your position\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a very conscientious jury who listed to the evidence, listened to your complete, and may I say exceptional, cross-examination of the complainant,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole process seemed to me to be exactly as it should have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Matthew Fisher, for the Crown, later addressed Mr Dann\u2019s submission, saying: \u201cwe are very concerned on this side of the bar table\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope he hasn\u2019t made those statements to Your Honour to garner or attract some sort of media attention,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Addressing the stay application, Mr Dann took the court to a series of features throughout the trial he argued could lead the Court of Appeal to consider the verdicts \u201cunsafe or unsatisfactory\u201d.<\/p>\n
These includes differences in the woman\u2019s varying accounts of what happened, unchallenged differences in her evidence when compared to other witnesses and other objective evidence he said the prosecution had failed to address. <\/p>\n
Mr Dann said \u201cinconsistencies\u2019 in the woman\u2019s evidence included differences in body positions when the rape occurred, duration of the rapes and \u201crecent inventions\u201d including allegations that Carr had masturbated in front of her and apologised. <\/p>\n
The barrister also pointed to a text message from Carr to the victim the day after the rape where Carr asked \u201cwhat happened\u201d and mentioned that police had told him they were responding to a disturbance at his West Melbourne home. <\/p>\n
Mr Dann argued the text could only be seen as exculpatory because police had not argued it was incriminating conduct.<\/p>\n
He said Carr\u2019s mental health should be a factor in the decision, pointing to evidence from psychiatrist Jacqueline Rakov that Carr \u201cdescribes himself as living in hell\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are cases where the Court of Appeal comes to the view that jury verdicts cannot stand,\u201d Mr Dann said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a reasonable prospect this is one of those cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do say this is a case, where if ever the power (to stay sentencing) is to be exercised, it is this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Mr Fisher said legal authorities were clear that stays should only be granted in rare and exceptional circumstances \u2014 which he argued Carr\u2019s case did not reach. <\/p>\n
He told the court the Crown accepted from the outset that the woman was the most important witness and jurors had to accept her evidence beyond reasonable doubt. <\/p>\n
Mr FIsher said she had been quizzed over five days about \u201cevery possible inconsistency, difference or gap\u201d in the account and argued jurors probably did not accept everything she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was open to the jury to reach the verdicts they did,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe say, obviously, Your Honour should not entertain the stay application.\u201d
Judge Gucciardo has indicated he expects to be in a position to hand down Carr\u2019s sentence and his decision on the stay application sometime next week. <\/p>\n
The hearing will continue on Wednesday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Celebrity agent Ralph Carr\u2019s convictions for raping a woman are an \u201cobvious\u201d miscarriage of justice, his lawyer 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