Trial starts for man accused of repeatedly raping sex worker in brothel

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to an alleged sexual assault.

Jurors in the trial of a man accused of committing a sexual assault in a Canberra brothel were told by a prosecutor that booking a sex worker was “not a free-for-all”.

“It doesn’t give anyone a right to do as they please,” prosecutor Tamzin Lee told them during her opening submissions.

“A consensual sexual act involves ongoing and mutual decision-making by the people involved.”

Daniel Benedict Arcus pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent when his jury trial began in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday (25 February).

Ms Lee said in June 2022, he went to the brothel and made a booking for three hours with two sex workers, one of whom was the complainant in the trial.

She expected the jury would hear the complainant say that Mr Arcus was “being a bit more aggressive” than previously and called them a derogatory term.

“His behaviour was really out of line, I kept telling him,” the complainant told police during an interview in July 2022.

During the booking, Mr Arcus allegedly orally and digitally raped the complainant, as well as raped them with an object.

“I was already crying by that point … it was just pain,” the complainant said about the last alleged incident.

They claimed that at times during the alleged acts, they struggled against Mr Arcus, teared up, told him he was hurting them, started hitting him, tried to pull away and tried to push him.

Ms Lee said when the two sex workers stopped for a break, the complainant told the other worker and a receptionist about their allegations. Mr Arcus’ booking was then ended.

The complainant told two other people what allegedly happened later that night, then called the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre and went to police a few days later.

“In the first couple of days, I didn’t know how to process it at all,” the complainant told police.

“I got frustrated at myself for not feeling any emotion towards it.

“Then, maybe four or five days after the incident, it really started to hit me.”

Ms Lee said Mr Arcus was presumed innocent unless the charges were proved.

“There is no judgment here about sex work; there is no judgment here about sexual preferences,” she told the jury.

Defence barrister James Maher said in early 2022, his client was recently divorced and decided to start going to brothels “to go and have some fun”, becoming known in the businesses as a friendly person who would spend money.

“That’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to go and have some fun,” he said.

The barrister said it was not in dispute that “something happened” during that night in June 2022 that required his client to leave the brothel.

However, Mr Arcus denied doing anything without the complainant’s consent.

He denied the three alleged acts of rape, denied any forceful sexual intercourse and also denied acting “in a violent fashion” by hitting or slapping the complainant or calling them a derogatory term, Mr Maher said.

He said the prosecution’s case rested very significantly on the complainant’s evidence.

The trial continues before Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson.

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.