Breaking: Melbourne businessman found guilty of rape

Posted Tue 28 Jul 2026 at 11:52amTue 28 Jul 2026 at 11:52am, updated Tue 28 Jul 2026 at 11:56amTue 28 Jul 2026 at 11:56amThe man was found guilty after a three-week trial. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica )A well-connected Melbourne businessman has been found guilty of rape and has been taken into custody.A County Court jury delivered the verdicts today, finding beyond reasonable doubt that the man raped and sexually assaulted a woman at his home on March 23, 2023.The man now faces the prospect of years in jail and will be sentenced at a later date.Because of an ongoing suppression order, the ABC is unable to name the man or disclose information about the industries he works in or is connected to.The County Court has also banned media outlets from running a pixelated photo of the man.Lawyers for media outlets, including the ABC, are set to argue for the gag order to be lifted later today, at a hearing before Judge Frank Gucciardo.The rape trial centred on events at the man's house, following a night where he and the complainant had been drinking alcohol and, according to the prosecution, taking cocaine.Prosecutors alleged that he sexually assaulted the woman in his bedroom, with the attack coming to a halt when she punched him in the face.The man denied the allegations, and also refuted claims that he made numerous unwanted sexual advances towards the woman in the months leading up to the night in question.With no eyewitnesses, lawyers for the prosecution and defence agreed the case hinged on the credibility of the complainant.The woman, who is several decades younger than the businessman, spent days in the witness box giving evidence during the trial.