Two men accused of raping woman who believed they were Uber drivers
Michael Vrouvis and Panormitis Charalampis have pleaded not guilty to nine sexual assault charges. (ABC News)
In short:
Panormitis Charalampis and Michael Vrouvis have been accused of picking up an intoxicated girl from outside a nightclub and sexually assaulting her at her apartment.
The prosecution alleges the girl thought the men were "an Uber driver and a mate". The men argue the sexual encounters were consensual.
What's next?
The trial in the NT Supreme court began on Monday and is expected to run until next week.
Two men are on trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in her apartment for eight hours after picking her up on a night out while she was waiting for an Uber.
In opening statements on Monday, prosecutors said the woman — whose name has been suppressed to protect her identity — had been drinking at several bars on January 14, 2024.
Around 3:30am, she left Mayberry nightclub in Darwin's CBD after realising she was "too drunk," prosecutors said.
She ordered an Uber and sat on the street to wait.
"The next thing she remembers is being in the back of a car and being driven home," Crown prosecutor Rebecca Everitt told the jury.
The court heard the men who picked her up were not her Uber drivers.
The court heard the girl was waiting for an Uber outside Mayberry in Darwin's CBD when she was picked up. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Panormitis Charalampis and Michael Vrouvis are jointly facing nine counts of sexual offences, including sexual intercourse without consent.
Prosecutors allege the men picked the woman up outside the club and assaulted her in her apartment over more than eight hours.
Both men have pleaded not guilty, strenuously denying the allegations. They argue the sexual activities were consensual and that they were assisting an intoxicated woman.
"The defence case is that the complainant was not so drunk as to be incapable of consenting … and in fact she did consent," Mr Vrouvis's lawyer Stephen Robson SC told the court on Monday.
"The defence case is, if alcohol played a part in the sexual intercourse … it may well have increased her willingness."
Michael Vrouvis appeared in the NT Supreme Court on Monday. (ABC News: Roxanne Fitzgerald )
Woman recalls 'the Uber driver and the mate', court hears
Ms Everitt told the court that the woman's recollection of the incident consisted of "spotty fragments of memory, punctuated by black spots and some clear memories".
CCTV footage presented in court showed the men's car arriving at the woman's apartment block at 3:44am.
She can be seen falling out the car's back door and lying still for over a minute before the men helped her up.
"Both the accused had to pick [her up] and walk and then somewhat drag her," Ms Everitt said.
The footage showed the woman collapsing multiple times as the men supported her to her apartment, and prosecutors said she vomited at some point before entering.
The case is expected to run for over a week in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
According to prosecutors, the men remained in the apartment for over eight hours.
Ms Everitt said the woman recalled "passing out or falling asleep" in her bed, and waking intermittently to each of the men allegedly raping her.
"She told them they were gross … and told them to leave," Ms Everitt told the jury.
"She said the lighter haired man kept asking if she was okay and she kept saying no."
The following day, the woman told a friend she "thought it was the Uber driver and the mate" who had assaulted her.
Her evidence was heard in closed court after the opening statements.
Consent central issue to the case, jury told
The court heard the men do not dispute being in the apartment for over eight hours, or engaging in sexual activity with the woman.
The central issue, both the prosecution and defence teams told the court, was whether she consented.
Mr Robson told the court while his client does not dispute picking the woman up or having sex with her, it was "in sharp dispute" that she was "too intoxicated" to consent.
The court heard the girl had been at Mayberry around 3:30am on January 14, 2024. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)
He told the jury not to settle on what they saw in the CCTV footage between 3:30 and 4am as representative of the woman's stage of intoxication for the eight-hour period that followed.
"The question of whether [she] was capable of consenting is not simply one of whether alcohol may have had an effect on her decision-making," he said.
"It is a question of whether her level of intoxication completely deprived her of the capacity to exercise her free agreement."
Defence lawyers Beth Wild (left) and James Stuchbery (right) represent Panormitis Charalampis. (ABC News: Roxanne Fitzgerald)
Beth Wild, representing Mr Charalampis, also said her client did not dispute being at the apartment or engaging in sexual activity.
She said the men "came across her in the city, drove her home, assisted her and walked her to her apartment".
Ms Wild added that at one point during the eight hours, the woman went to the balcony and shared a cigarette with one of the men.
"This is a case where the prosecution rely very heavily, almost exclusively, on her evidence," Ms Wild said.
"Therefore, the reliability and credibility … the accurateness or truthfulness of [the woman's evidence] is the central issue in this case."