Well-connected rapist’s identity to remain a secret
Tara Cosoleto |
A convicted rapist who has connections to Melbourne’s elite has successfully sought to keep his identity a secret after the jury’s verdict.
The suppression was set to expire on Tuesday when the jury returned their guilty verdicts to two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
But the man’s barrister Dermot Dann KC applied for a further interim order, arguing it was necessary to protect his client from an elevated risk of self-harm and suicide.
The man sat in the dock with his eyes closed as his lawyer made the submissions on Tuesday afternoon, after his bail was earlier revoked and he was taken into custody.
He had dropped his head on Tuesday morning as the jury convicted him of assaulting a younger woman at his Melbourne home in the early hours of March 24, 2023.
The woman was previously employed by the man and she reconnected with him for more work opportunities the day before the incident, the jury was told.
She agreed to go over to his place on the afternoon of March 23 and they discussed work before listening to music, drinking wine together and using cocaine, prosecutors said.
The pair went to his friend’s place to watch the football and she returned to the rapist’s home sometime after 10.30pm, where they continued to use drugs and alcohol, the jury was told.
The woman became emotional while discussing a recent break-up and the man hugged her and said he would take care of her before kissing her.
The woman pushed the man away but he began touching her breasts, waist and buttocks.
She told him to stop but he said he couldn’t because she was “so sexy”, the jury was told.
The woman was holding a pillow and crying into it when the man raped her twice.
The man maintained his innocence and was considering an appeal, Mr Dann indicated as he pushed for the suppression to continue.
The defence foreshadowed testimony from a psychiatrist about the heightened risk to the man’s mental health if he was named in the media, Mr Dann said.
He argued it was important his client’s identity remained suppressed until the judge could consider all of the material before him.
Mr Dann also argued the man’s circumstances were different to convicted rapist Tom Silvagni, whose identity was also suppressed throughout his court case and late-2025 trial.
Silvagni’s identity was revealed a week after his guilty verdict in December 2025, when the judge found the risk to his mental health would be reduced in custody.
“If it’s ever suggested because (my client’s) now in custody, the risk of self-harm is radically reduced … that should be rejected,” Mr Dann said.
Prosecutor Matthew Fisher did not oppose the interim order but indicated he would fight the gag order being extended beyond a final hearing on Monday.
Victorian County Court Judge Frank Gucciardo granted the interim application.
“The public interest can wait until then,” the judge said.
The man will remain in custody ahead of his pre-sentence hearing at a later date.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
AAP