Three people accused of raping a man with an axe handle in a Black Hill kitchen have been committed to stand trial.
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Police allege the victim was burnt with a steel rod, had his leg cut with a wooden saw, was injected with a drug and raped with the wooden axe handle at an Edwardes Street address on October 9.
The ordeal was allegedly carried out because the accused persons wanted to know the location of a USB device which contained a file.
Ballarat's Bradley Cassells, 25, Tina Cations, 34, and Patrick Meizys, 24, faced a committal hearing at the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The victim gave evidence via a remote location in a closed court for most of the hearing.
Following the hearing, magistrate Ron Saines determined there was enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
Cassells, Cations and Meizys pleaded not guilty to their charges, including rape, and were committed to stand trial in the County Court.
A direction's hearing will be held in Melbourne on June 18.
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