Man accused of raping sex worker found not guilty of all charges

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged sexual abuse.

A man accused of raping a sex worker in a brothel has been acquitted of all charges.

Daniel Benedict Arcus pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent when his jury trial began in the ACT Supreme Court last month.

Jurors heard he was accused of raping a sex worker three times during a booking at a Canberra brothel in June 2022.

The 11 jurors began deliberating on Tuesday (4 March) morning, then returned to the courtroom that afternoon to deliver their verdicts, announcing they had found him not guilty of all three charges.

Mr Arcus’s supporters, sitting in the courtroom’s gallery, began clapping at the announcement, while he was seen putting his head in his hands.

Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson thanked the jurors for their service and discharged them.

“Mr Arcus, you are now formally discharged and you are free to go,” she then told him.

During the closing submissions on Monday (3 March), Mr Arcus’s barrister, James Maher, told jurors that his client was presumed innocent and the prosecution had to prove he was guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

He said his client was interviewed by police twice in 2023. The first time, he welcomed the officers into his home and was “blindsided” when they told him they were investigating an allegation of sexual assault from 15 months earlier.

“He was candid, he was frank, he was forthright,” Mr Maher said.

“As far as he’s concerned, it just didn’t happen and it couldn’t have happened.”

When police told Mr Arcus about the separate allegations, he responded, “No way”, “I have no recollection of that at all, would not have happened”, and, “No way, I don’t hit people”.

Mr Maher said, “as far as he’s concerned, absolutely nothing untoward happened”.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.