Lachlan Young, a Ballarat man, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape in the County Court of Victoria, with his trial beginning before Judge Caitlin English in Melbourne. Prosecutors allege Young, then aged 21, raped a 16-year-old girl in the backyard of his neighbour's property in Sebastopol in the early hours of February 5, 2024.
Ballarat man pleads not guilty to rape of 16-year-old at neighbour's property
Lachlan Young, a Ballarat man, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape in the County Court of Victoria, with his trial beginning before Judge Caitlin English in Melbourne. Prosecutors allege Young, then aged 21, raped a 16-year-old girl in the backyard of his neighbour's property in Sebastopol in the early hours of February 5, 2024.
Prosecutor Andrew Buckland told the jury that Young first met the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at his neighbour's Sebastopol house on February 4, 2024, where he was socialising with teenagers, some of whom had travelled from another Victorian town.
According to the prosecution, Young sent a Snapchat message to the girl in the early hours of February 5 saying he wanted to 'do things', and after she told him she was 16, he allegedly wrote: 'Come on please, just 5 minutes and I'll make it worth it.'
Buckland said the girl agreed to meet Young in the backyard, where consensual sexual touching took place, but that Young then forced her to have sexual intercourse against her will. According to the prosecutor, the complainant 'just kind of froze and didn't know what to do.' After stopping, Young allegedly told the girl, 'You should probably go back inside before people start looking for you.'
Later on February 5, Young is alleged to have sent the girl a message reading, 'We didn't do much anyway.'
Buckland read a transcript of Snapchat messages sent weeks after the alleged incident. On February 11, the girl wrote: 'How's ya Missus, how would she feel about u f***ing an underage and cheating on her.' On February 29, she wrote: 'Did you tell [your neighbour] about the night u f***ed me.' Young replied the following day, 'what are you on about?' The girl then wrote: 'Ur pathetic Lachie u literally f***ed me even though I said no at [the neighbour's] house.' Young subsequently blocked her.
The prosecution said the complainant later disclosed the alleged rape to a school counsellor and participated in a police interview on April 2, 2024.
A jury of ten men and two women was selected on Thursday, with Young present in the dock wearing a charcoal suit and dark tie.
- The complainant's account has not been presented in detail in the source beyond what the prosecutor summarised in his opening.
- The nature or content of the pre-recorded evidence referred to by the defence is not described.
- No information is provided about Young's personal background beyond his age at the time of the alleged offence.
- The identity or role of Young's neighbour in the proceedings is not established.
- The outcome of the police interview conducted on April 2, 2024 is not described.
- No indication is given of how long the trial is expected to run.
Read the original at ABC News Australia