Rumours of the identity of a high-profile Melbourne man ordered to stand trial for rape are swirling among Australia’s celebrity community.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with multiple rape offences in August last year.
The accused man was also charged with attempted rape and sexual assault which pertain to a lone alleged female victim.
Police alleged the charged offences occurred in March last year.
The man pleaded not guilty to all charges and will front a Melbourne County Court trial at a later date.
Multiple high-profile Australian insiders told the Daily Mail Australia speculation on the who the accused man was swirling like ‘wild fire’.
One insider said they would ‘probably’ learn the identity in about ‘half an hour’ after news of the rape case broke earlier today.
Another said they were already aware of the rape charges.
A high-profile Melbourne man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with multiple rape offences
The Melbourne man will face a Melbourne County Court (pictured) trial for rape
The man had a blanket suppression cloaking his matters but multiple media outlets including the Herald Sun were successful in having a partial suppression lifted at court on Thursday.
The man previously faced a committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in June before his matter was sent to the County Court.
Police say the woman, who cannot be named, was at the man’s Melbourne property at the time of the alleged offences, the Guardian reported.
A redacted form of the alleged victim’s statement to police aired during closed court proceedings was later released by the court.
The alleged victim claimed she had consumed a significant amount of alcohol and cocaine over several hours after meeting the man at his house, according to her statement to police.
She alleged both substances had been supplied by the man.
The alleged victim also claimed she said carried a large bag of about nine grams of cocaine in his pocket.
‘I’ve always got it on me,’ the woman claimed the man allegedly said.
The Melbourne man had been committed to stand trial after a hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court (pictured)
The woman said she had been emotional about separating from her partner and had been consoled by the man, who she alleged ‘inappropriately’ kissed and touched her.
‘Every time I felt him put his hands somewhere that I didn’t like I would push his hands away and just say “stop”…,’ she said.
‘I kept saying, “I don’t want this”… he was saying things like “you’re so sexy” (and) “I can’t stop, I need your help to sleep”,’ she said.
The woman alleged the high-profile man then raped her and she punched him in the face before she could brake free.
‘He immediately grabbed his face and said “you’ve broken my nose”,’ she said in the statement.
‘He recoiled and started carrying on like a baby, I got out of bed and ran around to the couch, I said “you’re a f–king rapist”.’
The woman claimed the man denied raping her, allegedly saying ‘it’s not rape, I was using my fingers’ and she also claimed the man had denied using his penis.
She said he had told her that he wanted her to leave but she had decided to go to a spare room at his house.
High-profile barrister Dermot Dann KC (pictured) had represented the man
She said a short time afterwards she went to speak to him as ‘I was just confused, I wanted to hear him say he knew what happened’.
The woman also alleged the man started masturbating in front of her and said ‘come here, do it for me, I need you to do it for me’, before she left the room.
According to the statement, the woman had texted details of her allegations to her mother, who had called police.
Investigators who had responded recorded the woman’s allegations on body-worn camera at the scene, the court heard.
All details aired at June’s committal had remained suppressed until today.
The court heard evidence from witnesses including the alleged victim, and former employees of the man, a business partner and friend of the man and police.
Victoria Police Informant detective Senior Constable Joshua Guy was pressed by defence counsel Dermot Dann KC about emails the cop had sent regarding the case.
The emails included one regarding the man’s suppression order application in which the informant strongly opposed a gag order being ‘gifted’ to someone whose offending was related to his ‘arrogance’ and ‘personal status’.
The accused man was also charged with attempted rape and sexual assault which pertain to a lone alleged female victim
Psychiatrist Dr Jacqueline Rakov, told the suppression order hearing in October the accused had twice been admitted to a mental health clinic since he was charged because of fears he could harm himself.
Rakov said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and had a low mood, a loss of interest in previous enjoyable activities, poor concentration and low self-confidence and sense of purpose.
The doctor said the accused was largely staying at home, not going to work or socialising and panicked about being outside.
The accused man’s distress had increased after media coverage of an earlier court appearance, the court was told.
‘He’s said, “If I’m guilty, put it on the front page”,’ Dr Rakov said.
The matter will return to court at a later date.
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