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 Ballarat rape trial: jury considers verdict 

Ballarat rape trial: jury considers verdict

09 Sep, 2010 02:33 AM
THE JURY is out in the trial of three men charged with the rape of a woman they met at a Ballarat bar.

Brothers, Charles Anthony Smith, of Ballarat North, and Matthew Benjamin Smith, of Point Cook, both 21, and co-accused Bennet Crouch, 22, of Wendouree, have been charged with raping the 21-year-old woman in June last year.

All three have pleaded not guilty to charges in the County Court at Ballarat.

The trio met the woman at Side by Side bar in Mair Street.

It is alleged Charles Smith approached the woman at the bar, danced with her and bought her a drink.

The group later went back to Charles Smith's home, where it is alleged the offences took place.

After having consensual sexual intercourse with Charles Smith, the woman has alleged Crouch entered the bedroom and the offending began, with both men involved.

Shortly after, Matthew Smith came into the bedroom and also allegedly raped and indecently assaulted the woman.

Crown prosecutor David Cordy told the jury the woman had arrived in Australia from China only three months before the incident.

In his closing address barrister Phillip Priest QC, defence counsel for Charles Smith, told the court the woman was an accomplished liar who had woven lies into the fabric of the truth.

The jury of four women and eight men retired to consider their verdict yesterday morning.

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An artist's impression of the three men accused of rape.
An artist's impression of the three men accused of rape.

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