A former café owner accused of raping an intoxicated woman allegedly made an admission to her mother afterwards that he ‘f****d’ her daughter and ‘knew he shouldn’t have’, a court has heard.
Rohit ‘John’ Mehta and Manmohit Singh Sachdeva, former co-owners of the Hangout on Preston in Como, Perth, are on trial over the alleged rape in July 2018.
Mehta is accused of raping the woman while his friend Sachdeva is accused of ‘aiding and abetting’ him. The pair no longer own the restaurant.
Both men have denied the charges, claiming to have honestly held the mistaken belief that the woman consented, The West Australian reported.
On day one of the trial, WA’s District Court heard how the alleged victim was found passed out by her 18-year-old daughter who had earlier been locked out of the café.
The victim’s mother took to the stand on Tuesday, where she recalled the moment she entered the café with her granddaughter to find her own daughter ‘just laying there’, passed out and ‘very dishevelled’.
Rohit ‘John’ Mehta (pictured) is accused of raping a drunk woman inside his Perth café in 2018
The mother called an ambulance after her daughter vomited and told the court she was then harassed by Mehta for calling them, the publication reported.
‘He kept saying “lady, lady, let me explain”. I just said “now is not the time”,’ she told the jury.
‘Then he said to me “lady, you are just like my grandma. Then he said to me “I f****d her and I know I shouldn’t have”. I then said “no, you shouldn’t have”.’
Paramedic Jennifer Glaskin described how she arrived at the café to find the teenage woman ‘cradling’ her unresponsive mother, who was breathing but could not talk or ‘weight-bear’.
Ms Glaskin told the court she asked the two men what happened to which one of them replied ‘we f****d’.
The court previously heard the woman and her 18-year-old daughter went to the café for dinner with drinks before Mehta and Sachdeva joined them and invited them to continue drinking.
Rohit ‘John’ Mehta allegedly admitted to the woman’s mother that he ‘f*****d’ her daughter, the WA District Court heard on Tuesday
The café co-owners allegedly supplied wine to the woman for several hours, including tequila shots.
As the evening wore on, the daughter became upset by her mother’s intoxication and tried to get her to leave, the court heard.
State prosecutor Lindsay Rosenthal alleged the pair got the teenager to come outside where Mehta told he ‘would look after’ her mother, and Sachdeva assured her not to worry before returning inside.
The alleged victim’s daughter, who says she found the door to the café had been locked, has also taken to the stand to give evidence.
She told the court she remains traumatised of the memory of finding her mother passed out on a sofa bed, semi-naked and had vomit in her mouth.
She testified that she had never seen her mother so intoxicated and claimed the two accused men kept plying her with more wine throughout the night before bringing out tequila.
A woman was allegedly raped at the Hangout on Preston cafe (pictured) at Como, in south Perth in July 2018
The court was also shown CCTV from the cafe on the night, which showed Mehta (pictured) and the woman kissing at a table and holding hands
The daughter claimed Mehta tried to stop her mother from leaving by ‘pulling her back down’ and accused him of trying to seduce her.
The court was also shown CCTV from the cafe on the night, which seemed to showMehta and the woman kissing at a table and holding hands.
The daughter disagreed when asked by Mehta’s lawyers the real reason she wanted to leave was that she was embarrassed by her mum.
Customer John D’Orazio, who was drinking with the woman on the night, testified that he saw Mehta and the woman kissing and believed it was ‘mutual’.
The court previously heard the woman was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital, where she recorded a 0.250 blood alcohol reading.
Mehta’s DNA was found on an intimiate swab taken from the woman, the court also heard.
The trial continues.
The WA District Court heard the co-owners of Hangout on Preston served drinks for several hours to a group that included the alleged victim and her daughter before the alleged rape