Rumors surrounding the identity of a high-profile Melbourne man facing trial for rape are swirling among Australia’s celebrity community.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with multiple rape offenses in August last year.
The suspect was also charged with attempted rape and sexual assault involving a lone female victim.
The police suspect that the alleged offenses took place in March last year.
The man pleaded not guilty to all charges and will appear in Melbourne County court at a later date.
Several high-profile Australian insiders told Daily Mail Australia that there was speculation about who the accused man was spreading like ‘wildfire’.
An insider said they would “probably” learn the identity within “half an hour” after news of the rape case broke earlier today.
Another said they were already aware of the rape allegations.
A high-profile Melbourne man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with multiple rape offences
The Melbourne man will be tried for rape
The man had a general suppression that concealed his affairs, but several media outlets, including the Herald Sun, managed to lift a partial suppression in court on Thursday.
The man previously faced a hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in June before his case was sent to the County Court.
Police say the woman, who cannot be named, was at the man’s property in Melbourne at the time of the alleged crimes. the Guardian reported.
A redacted version of the alleged victim’s statement to police, broadcast during closed court proceedings, was later released by the court.
According to her statement to police, the alleged victim claimed she consumed a significant amount of alcohol and cocaine over several hours after meeting the man at his home.
She claimed that both substances were supplied by the man.
The alleged victim also claimed she had a large bag containing approximately nine grams of cocaine in his pocket.
“I always have it with me,” the woman alleged the man said.
Melbourne man was ordered to stand trial after a hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court (pictured)
The woman said she had been emotional about the separation from her partner and had been comforted by the man, who she said kissed and touched her ‘inappropriately’.
“Every time I felt him put his hands somewhere 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 said things like ‘you’re so sexy’ (and) ‘I can’t stop, I need your help to sleep,'” she said.
The woman claimed the high-profile man then raped her and she punched him in the face before she could break free.
“He immediately grabbed his face and said, ‘You broke my nose,’” she said in the statement.
‘He shrank back and started acting like a baby. I got out of bed and ran to the couch, I said, “You’re a fucking rapist.”
The woman claimed the man denied raping her, saying ‘it’s not rape, I used my fingers’, and she also claimed the man denied using his penis.
She said he told her he wanted her to leave, but she decided to move into a guest room at his home.
High-profile lawyer Dermot Dann KC (pictured) had represented the man
She said she went to talk to him a short time later: “I was just confused, I wanted to hear him say he knew what happened.”
The woman also claimed the man started masturbating in front of her and said ‘come here, do it for me, I want you to do it for me’, before leaving the room.
According to the statement, the woman had sent details of her allegations to her mother, who called police.
Investigators who responded recorded the woman’s allegations at the scene on a body-worn camera, the court heard.
Any details aired during June’s commitment had remained under wraps to this day.
The court heard witness statements, including the alleged victim, and former employees of the man, a business partner and friend of the man and the police.
Victoria Police Informant Detective Senior Constable Joshua Guy was pressed by lawyer Dermot Dann KC about emails the officer had sent about the case.
Included in the emails was an email about the man’s suppression application, in which the informant strongly opposed a silence order being “gifted” to someone whose offense was related to his “arrogance” and “personal status” .
The suspect was also charged with attempted rape and sexual assault involving a lone female victim
Psychiatrist Dr. Jacqueline Rakov told the suppression order hearing in October that the suspect had been admitted to a mental health clinic twice since he was charged out of fear he might 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 suspect stayed home for the most part, did not go to work or socialize, and panicked because he was outside.
The suspect’s distress had increased following media reports of an earlier court appearance, the court was told.
“He said, ‘If I’m guilty, put it on the front page,’” Dr. Rakov said.
The case will return to court at a later date.