A Melbourne man has been found guilty of raping a Thai sex worker at an inner-north flat linked to the sex trade.
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An ACT Supreme Court jury found Robert Phillip Dick guilty this afternoon on two counts of having sexual intercourse without consent and one charge of committing an act of indecency.
The incidents occurred in mid-2007 on three separate occasions at a flat in Braddon.
The court heard Dick, 57, was a friend of the registered sex worker on the lease, and would run “errands” for women working at the unit.
But a colleague of the victim, who was working as a sex worker at the time, told the jury that Dick would exert authority over the woman.
“[I got that impression] from what he ordered, like 'I'm the boss, you have to listen to me, if I tell you to sit, you have to sit, if I tell you to stand, you have to stand',” the witness said through a Thai interpreter.
During the trial the defence team argued that any sexual contact was consensual, and suggested their terminally ill client was suffering from erectile dysfunction at the time.
But prosecutor Kylie Weston-Scheuber pointed out Dick told police he was still sexually active months after the incidents occurred.
In his closing address, defence barrister Ray Livingston described the case as “oath against oath”.
But the court heard the victim confided in colleagues about her treatment at Dick’s hands.
And the defendant admitted using a sex toy on the woman on one occasion, although he maintained she consented.
He also said he decided not to have sex with her on that night because he was concerned she felt “an obligation” to do so.
The jury deliberated for about six hours before reaching its verdict.
Justice Richard Refshauge now faces a complex sentencing process given Dick’s medical condition.
The matter has been adjourned until April, and the man’s bail has been continued.