Man allegedly repeatedly filmed himself raping woman with intellectual disability

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged sexual violence.

It is alleged numerous horrific videos of sexual violence were discovered on a man’s mobile phone after he raped a woman with an intellectual disability despite her repeated pleas for him to stop.

The man, who is in his 50s but cannot named to protect his alleged victim’s identity, and the woman had been in a long-term casual relationship, the ACT Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday (30 July).

In May 2024, he allegedly offered to pay her $100 for sex. It is alleged while the sex was initially consensual, it became painful for her and she repeatedly told him to stop, but he ignored her.

During this alleged assault, the woman began recording videos of him on her phone, in which she could repeatedly be heard saying “no”.

She called police after he left and they raided the man’s Canberra home a few days later.

After seizing his phone, police allegedly found 61 videos of sexual acts that apparently occurred between himself and the woman.

In many of these videos from 2023 and 2024, he had allegedly filmed himself sexually assaulting or raping her while she slept, as she could be heard snoring or was motionless during the acts.

The man admitted to police that he and the woman had sex on that night in May 2024 but claimed he stopped when she told him to. Also, he admitted she was asleep in a number of the videos, but he claimed she had given him prior consent for the acts.

He has pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexual intercourse without consent, 34 counts of intimate observations or capturing visual data and one count of committing an act of indecency without consent.

He applied for bail in the Magistrates Court on Tuesday, which was opposed by the prosecutor, who said further charges were expected.

The court heard it was reported that the woman, who also has post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions, was “highly vulnerable and easily manipulated”, and police thought the man was “taking advantage” of her due to her vulnerabilities.

She was “shocked and upset” when police told her about the videos found on the man’s phone.

The man, who represented himself in court, claimed there had been “lots of harassment” while he had been in custody, that he had been assaulted, and there was a lack of a duty of care in jail.

The court also heard he was concerned about “sanitary issues” at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

“My first and foremost concern is my health,” he said.

The man claimed the woman had been awake in the videos and “she was never held down against her will”.

Magistrate Alexandra Burt said she was concerned about the nature of the relationship between the pair. She said the woman was a “vulnerable person” and the man was aware of those vulnerabilities.

She refused bail. The matter was adjourned to August.

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.