Brisbane Gay Man Charged With Raping Female Friend

A 27-year-old out gay man in Queensland has been accused of raping his female friend. The accused, identified as Dominic Edmund Hansson, has pleaded not guilty and is facing trial before a District Court in Brisbane, reported The Courier Mail. 

Trigger Warning: This story has details of a sexual assault, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.

According to the police, Hansson has been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting his female friend, after turning up at her inner city Brisbane apartment in 2019.

Police have claimed that Hannson told investigators during questioning that he was curious about what sex with a woman would feel like.

Man Insisted On Sleeping In Bed With Female Friend

The woman alleged that Hansson had turned up at her door around 1.30 am on December 7, 2019, asking to be let in. The woman let him in, but told him that he would have to sleep on the couch. 

Crown prosecutor Chris Cook told Judge Catherine Muir in his opening address on Monday that Hansson insisted on sleeping in the bed and told the woman not to worry as she would be “safe”, The Courier Mail reported. 

Hansson then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman. Despite her pleas to stop, he reportedly told her, “I know you like it rough”. The prosecution alleged that Hansson also told her that he had wanted to “do this for a while”.

Victim Asked To Send Message So Boyfriend Wouldn’t Suspect Anything

After the morning of the sexual assault, the prosecution said that, Hansson got the victim to send him a message that  he had slept on the couch and “nothing had happened”, which he could show to his then boyfriend, a property developer. 

Hansson reportedly told the victim that he would kill himself, if his boyfriend ever found out about it. 

The woman reported the sexual assault to the police four months later on April 21, 2020. During a pretext call in May 2020, which the police were listening, the woman confronted Hanson about the sexual assault.

Hansson reportedly told her that he had made a “silly mistake” and said it was “harsh and untrue” to suggest that he had forced himself on her. The audio recording of the call as well as messaged exchanged between the accused and the victim, form part of the prosecution’s evidence in the case.

The trial is scheduled to conclude on Thursday.