After more than 15 hours deliberating, a 12-person jury in a case of alleged rape in Bacchus Marsh has been unable to agree on a verdict.

Judge Bill Stewart gave the jury a direction to persevere in making a unanimous decision on each of the five counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of assault at the County Court in Ballarat on Tuesday morning.

After again being unable to come to any verdict, the jury was instructed they would not need a unanimous verdict, but a majority, on each of the charges.

Late on Tuesday, the jury instructed they remained divided on each of the charges and would not be able to resolve with a verdict. The hung jury was then dismissed.

A directions hearing will take place in May, for prosecution to instruct whether they wish to run the case in front of another Ballarat jury.

UPDATE, Wednesday

The credibility of the complainant was the focus of the closing arguments in a rape trial at the Ballarat County Court, with the defence concluding she was "seeking revenge" on the accused with false accusations.

The accused, a man in his 70s, who The Courier has chosen not to name in order to not identify the complainant, has been charged with five counts of rape, sexual assault and assault.

The crown prosecutor, Sarah Thomas, said the complainant's recollection of the time she alleged she was held captive in the accused's aircraft hangar may have been affected by her terror of the accused, as she was trapped in a "cycle of violence".

"If you accept these things happened in these circumstances, it doesn't matter if it was two days or four days," she said.

The prosecution's case revolved around a "window of opportunity" for the offending to take place at the hangar, and the volatility of the relationship between the accused and the complainant.

There were a few days where no aircraft were taken out of the hangar, and that the accused became "argumentative" when questioned during cross-examination.

It was alleged he was controlling in the relationship, and after she had chosen to leave him, he took her to the hangar and "furiously, angrily penetrated her", and he had "asserted himself in the most brutal way possible".

The jury was told there had been arguments between the couple previously, with the prosecution asserting the accused's excessive drinking was an issue, particularly after a barbecue he hosted.

This is where the alleged assault occurred, causing a bruised eye, however defence lawyer Alan Hands said the complainant's responses to the cause affected her credibility - he said she did not tell her doctor, family, or friends that she had been assaulted, instead that she had hit her head on a table or car door.

"There is a single pillar to the prosecution's case, it stands or falls with the credibility and reliability of (the complainant's) evidence," he said, questioning the complainant's mental health history, memory, and motivations.

He said the complainant had a "long-term plan" for marriage, as the accused lived "around the corner" from her sister, and his church had no sanctions for divorcees.

"She had everything set up and it all went pear-shaped (after an argument) on August 29," he said.

Mr Hands said the fact that there had been correspondence between the complainant and accused at the time showed "objective evidence the prosecution's evidence cannot stand".

The jury will continue to hear directions from Judge Stuart on Thursday.

UPDATE, Tuesday

The man accused of raping his former partner and holding her prisoner in an aircraft hangar repeatedly denied having done so when asked directly by his defence lawyer.

During cross-examination on Tuesday, the accused said "it never happened", and said he was "embarrassed to hear" the allegation.

When asked if he had ever raped the woman at her unit, he replied, "there was no need, we were adults, we had consensual sex".

The accused, a man in his 70s, who The Courier has chosen not to name in order to not identify the complainant, has been charged with five counts of rape, sexual assault and assault.

The concluding statements will be heard by the jury on Wednesday.

UPDATE, Monday

A Serbian Orthodox priest and two friends of the accused were called by the defence on Monday in the ongoing rape trial being heard in the Ballarat County Court.

The accused, a man in his 70s, who The Courier has chosen not to name in order to not identify the complainant, has been charged with five counts of rape, sexual assault and assault.

The two friends, a couple who had known the man through his time at the airport, gave evidence regarding the layout of the hangar.

The man noted the door to the bedroom area did not lock, and he often came and went from the hangar to retrieve tools without telling the accused.

The man also noted he had met the alleged victim, and had spoken to her after the relationship ended with the accused.

The Serbian Orthodox priest told the jury he had met the accused and the victim at his church, and she had enquired about converting in early 2016, before the rape was alleged to have happened.

The case continues tomorrow, with the accused to be cross-examined, before closing arguments begin.

UPDATE, Friday

The Ballarat County Court heard on Friday no phone messages were exchanged between a man accused of raping his former and the victim during the four days he allegedly kept her at an aircraft hangar.

The man in his 70s, who The Courier has chosen not to name in order to not identify the complainant, has been charged with five counts of rape, sexual assault and assault.

Crown prosecutor Sarah Thomas presented the jury with detailed phone records from the accused and the victim from August 2016.

It was noted there were phone calls made from the victim's phone during the time the alleged offending occurred, to a medical specialist's office - the accused had an appointment at the office later that month.

Phone messages resumed and continued to be exchanged until the end of the month.

The prosecution also called the owner of the hangar as a witness, who gave a detailed description of the layout, and the police officer who initially interviewed the victim in February 2017.

The sergeant, from Ballan, said the victim had told him in detail about the alleged rape at her home, after which he informed Ballarat Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives.

The trial continues on Monday.

UPDATE, Thursday

A Bacchus Marsh grandfather has denied allegations he digitally raped his former partner, during a County Court trial.

The man in his 70s, who The Courier has chosen not to name in order to not identify the complainant, has been charged with five counts of rape, sexual assault and assault.

The prosecution allege the accused man took his partner at the time to a hangar he owned at an airfield, where he told her, "When you learn what you are supposed to do, you can go home". The court was told the accused and victim stayed at the hangar for four days, and the woman was raped digitally and by penile penetration.

In a police interview on 23 June 2017, which was played to the jury, the accused man denied that while at the hangar he would "always sleep with his fingers inside of her vagina".

"It's very sad to hear all these untruths and very disturbing allegations", the Bacchus Marsh man told police.

A friend of the woman gave evidence on Thursday that the complainant visited social activities less frequently when she was in a relationship with the accused man, and that she had assisted the alleged victim to change the locks in her unit.

The witness told the court she had picked the complainant up from hospital following an overdose, and was invited into a conversation with a psychiatrist, where the woman revealed the alleged offending.

"She said she'd been very stressed, and wanted to yell and scream and shout," the witness said. "She said she was held against her will at the hangar."

The alleged victim gave evidence to a closed court on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The trial continues Friday.

EARLIER

A Bacchus Marsh grandfather has pleaded not guilty to allegedly raping his former partner in an aircraft hangar in August 2016.

The man, who The Courier has chosen not to name in order to not identify the complainant, appeared in the Ballarat County Court on Monday afternoon charged with common assault, sexual assault, and five charges of rape. Crown prosecutor Sarah Thomas said the female complainant was in her fifties when the alleged offending occurred, and had formed a relationship with the defendant in early 2016.

The prosecution allege sometime in August 2016, the woman was in bed at her unit at 2.45am, when the accused appeared naked in her bedroom unexpectedly, where he pulled her closer by the legs and bit her on the left breast. Ms Thomas told the jury the man then put his hands on the complainant's shoulders, put his teeth on her head, and penetrated her.

The prosecutor said the next morning, the accused man took the woman to a hangar he owned at an airfield, which has accommodation upstairs. In a statement, the woman said the defendant told her, "This is where you are staying until you learn you are supposed to be with me", before allegedly pushing her on the bed and raping her. Ms Thomas told the court the accused and victim had stayed at the hangar for four days, and the woman was raped digitally and by penile penetration. She said the alleged offending was not revealed until February 2017.

In his opening address, Defence barrister Alan Hands said many people rented space in the hangar and visited daily. He said while the victim told police she was "terrified" of his client, she was texting him regularly right up until August 30, after the alleged offending occurred.

Mr Hands said the complainant was lying about what she'd told police in relation to the alleged rape, and the assault she accused the man of "never happened".

The prosecutor said in May 2016, the woman was at the accused man's house where she told the defendant she wanted to leave, and put her clothes and dog in her the car.

Ms Thomas said the man dragged the woman out of the car, into the house, where he hit her in the eye. The woman presented to Ballan Health Services, and told health workers the injury was caused by a car door.

The trial continues.

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