Rape – Melbourne: Not Guilty

This case study involves a serious allegation of rape in Melbourne, following a consensual encounter that later became the subject of a formal police complaint. Our client faced significant personal and professional consequences after being charged, including the suspension of a Working with children check. Through careful preparation, detailed analysis of evidence, and a strong courtroom strategy, our client was ultimately found not guilty by a jury.

What is alleged to have occurred?

Our client and the complainant had met on an online dating application and had commenced a casual relationship. One night, after they had both been out at other events, they met at our client’s house where they initially had a drink together and listened to music. The complainant described our client as being quite intoxicated.

At a later stage in the night, they commenced consensual sexual activity which included intercourse. The complainant alleged that during intercourse, our client was rougher than they had been in previous encounters. It was further described that our client was pulling the complainant’s hair with force and inserting the client’s finger into the complainant’s anus, which caused pain.

The complainant said that this occurred without the complainant’s consent. It was reported that the complainant said ‘stop’ and wanted to stop all sexual activity, but that our client continued to have sex with the complainant. After they finished, the complainant described going into the bathroom where the complainant cried, regained composure, and finally left our client’s apartment thereafter.

On the Monday after that weekend, the complainant went to work and told a close friend and colleague about having a very uncomfortable experience over the weekend.

A few days later, the complainant sent our client a text asking to meet for a drink. It was during work hours, which was not unusual as they worked very close to each other and had done that on several previous occasions. On the complainant’s account of this conversation, they said that they asked our client if our client remembered what had happened over the weekend. Our client said ‘no’, and the complainant went on to say that what our client did made the complainant uncomfortable, and that the complainant had said ‘stop’ but that our client didn’t. The complainant said that our client apologised profusely and said that it had never happened before. The conversation ended rapidly after that.

The complainant further described seeing our client a couple of years later at a bar when our client was there with another person. It was alleged that our client stared at the complainant in an intimidating manner which made the complainant feel scared. Later on, the complainant further described seeing our client from across the street one time, during which our client nodded in acknowledgement. The complainant felt very upset by this encounter and sent a message instructing our client to never look at or address the complainant in any way, eventually describing our client as a rapist.

The complainant said that seeing our client brought a realisation of the impact the incident had caused, and so the complainant made the decision to go to the police to make a formal complaint about the alleged rape several years prior.

Our client was contacted by police and asked to come in for an interview. The client then contacted our office and was given advice about how to conduct themselves in the interview. They were advised to make a No Comment interview, and our client followed that advice.

The police then charged our client with rape on account of continuing penetration in circumstances where consent had been withdrawn. Upon being charged, our client’s employment was affected as their Working with children check was automatically suspended on account of the nature of the charge.

What happened at court?

Our client pleaded not guilty to the charges. Our client instructed that they had not heard the complainant say stop and they believe that the entire sexual encounter was consensual.

When building a strong and robust defence, it is necessary to look at all aspects of the case. We had to carefully scrutinise the events from the night of the incident and see how they fit with other pieces of evidence in the case. This included a careful review of the client and complainant’s entire relationship and communication history.

Our client also disputed how the conversation took place a few days after the incident. Although our client acknowledged that the complainant did express feeling uncomfortable and that our client was very apologetic over this, our client maintained that the complainant did not say that the latter had said ‘stop’ and that our client didn’t listen and continued anyway. Our client further said that if the complainant had said this, it would have been a jarring and shocking moment because there is no mistaking what that means.

After the catch-up, our client simply went back to work, which our client would not have been able to do if they had just been accused of rape. In analysing their message history, we found that even after this confrontation conversation, there had still been some light-hearted messages between them which had been instigated by the complainant. That did not sit comfortably with what you would expect if the complainant had accused our client of rape.

Our client didn’t recall seeing the complainant in the pub and certainly denied staring at the complainant in an attempt to intimidate. And although our client did recall seeing the complainant from across the street and nodding at them as a form of greeting and acknowledgement, our client says that the complainant’s text which followed was the first time they had understood that they were being accused of rape arising from the incident. Our client recalls being in total shock when they received it.

Our ultimate argument to the jury was that the complainant may very well have felt uncomfortable by what had occurred that night, but that our client was unaware of that. We suggested to the jury that the complainant did not communicate their withdrawal of consent as clearly as the complainant believed they had. Over time, the event had affected the complainant more and more, which accounted for the change in presentation.

Our client gave clear and compelling evidence in the trial. We also called the client’s current partner as a witness. The partner said that our client was a very considerate, emotionally mature and caring person.

What was the result?

Ultimately, the jury were not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of our client’s guilt. The client was found not guilty of all charges.

Kristina Kothrakis

DISCLAIMER: This is a real case study of an actual case from our files. Details pertaining to the client have been changed to protect their privacy. The sentence imposed and the charge have not been altered. These case studies are published to demonstrate real outcomes and give an indication of possible tariffs in Court. We do not guarantee a similar case on these charges will get the same result. Please note that we post results at our discretion, therefore while many case studies are average results, others are notable for their exceptional outcomes. PUBLISHED 09/09/2025