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Prosecutors will abandon their case against a high-profile man and a Geelong marketing executive who were accused of raping an intoxicated woman in February 2023.
Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions will ask for the charges laid against Patrick Sinnott and the well-known man to be withdrawn at a court hearing later this month, two sources with knowledge of the case unable to speak publicly confirmed on Wednesday.
Prosecutors will abandon their case against Patrick Sinnott and a high-profile man accused of rape. Credit: Louie Douvis
The pair were charged with several counts of sexual assault, including rape, early this year. They denied all charges against them.
The Office of Public Prosecutions has been contacted for comment. Lawyers for the accused declined to comment when approached by this masthead.
The OPP’s decision to abandon the case follows a two-day preliminary hearing at the Geelong Magistrates’ Court to determine whether there was sufficient evidence for the men to stand trial.
Five witnesses were called to detail the alleged incident, said to have occurred in the early hours of February 5, 2023.
The court heard allegations the men had coaxed the complainant into her car after meeting outside strip club Alley Cats about 4am, before driving off and raping her in a car park.
But two witnesses who testified said they were told in the weeks after the night out that the woman had said she lied about the alleged attack.
They heard the men paid the woman for sexual services, but after she demanded more money, which the men refused, she decided to report the interaction as rape, the court was told.
“[I concluded that] if she consented and requested payment for services, she provided consent; therefore it is not right … if she then reported it as rape – that would be lying to the police,” one of the witnesses told the court.
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Another witness, a friend of the alleged victim, detailed in court the moment he saw the woman drive off with the two accused, telling the court he urged security guards to call police as he feared she would be raped.
The alleged victim was behind the wheel when she sped off with the two men, driving “erratically”, the court heard. The friend called police in the minutes after and tried calling the woman’s phone but got no answer.
Sinnott’s barrister, Moya O’Brien, accused the witness of lying about key details in his police statement, including his allegation that one of the men had assaulted him.
A wide-ranging suppression order prevents publication of the name and any identifying details of the well-known individual.
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