Man who allegedly stealthed sex worker was in a 'particular state of mind', trial told

CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to an alleged rape.

Jurors in the trial of a man who allegedly raped a sex worker have been urged to consider the timing of events.

Aleksandar Ivanovski is accused of stealthing a sex worker, a term that refers to the removal of a condom without a sexual partner’s consent.

In December 2021, he arrived at a Canberra brothel, where he engaged a sex worker.

Jurors previously heard he and the alleged victim had a 30-minute session, where he was said to have asked if he could “f–k [her] raw”. She refused and told him a condom would need to be worn.

The session was ultimately extended by 10 minutes, and near the end of the booking, he allegedly removed the condom.

The alleged victim reportedly asked Mr Ivanovski, “Did you just stealth me?” after she turned and saw him pick something from the floor.

In her closing address on Wednesday (19 February), prosecutor Tamzin Lee said that question was an “incredulous” response.

“[At the time, the alleged victim was] processing what she is seeing and what is happening, and she is accusing the accused [of stealthing her],” she said.

Ms Lee said Mr Ivanovski had engaged a different sex worker earlier that evening, who told jurors that he had also asked her for unprotected sex.

This showed he was “in the particular state of mind – that is, he wanted to have sex, he wanted to have unprotected sex”, she argued.

In swabs taken in the aftermath of the alleged rape, Ms Lee said Mr Ivanovski’s DNA was found inside the woman.

Also, she said several witnesses had told the trial that the alleged victim’s behaviour had changed in the aftermath.

“They all described how she had gone from her usual type of personality and her usual type of interactions to a different state,” she said.

Ms Lee told jurors the “ultimate question” was if Mr Ivanovski removed the condom during intercourse.

“He suddenly gets hard, he’s able to move his hand from holding the penis and suddenly he’s able to have sex,” she said.

“What, you may wonder, has changed? On the prosecution case, he’s removed the condom.”

In his closing submission, defence lawyer Joshua Nottle said the woman’s belief that she had allegedly been stealthed was held “genuinely but mistakenly”.

“She can think that it happened, and it can also be true that Mr Ivanovski did not do it,” he said.

He said the woman only saw him put the condom on and did not see him remove it.

Mr Nottle said an expert in DNA had told jurors that DNA could be transferred onto a condom if a person put one on themselves.

“On the basis of DNA transfer, it is equally consistent that Mr Ivanovski’s DNA was deposited there [inside the alleged victim] by way of the condom,” he said.

Also, Mr Nottle said the woman first raised claims of a difference in the “texture” between a penis using a condom and one without during the trial, rather than in her initial interview with police.

“Logic, in my submission, indicates that’s a pretty important piece of information for police to know [in their investigation],” he said.

Mr Ivanovski has pled not guilty to a charge of sexual intercourse without consent.

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.

You can also submit an online report about a historical sexual assault allegation for incidents that occurred more than six months ago.