Bottle 'rape' a media beat-up: lawyer

A lawyer for two male teenagers charged with raping another male teenager with a beer bottle says his clients have been subjected to 'trial by media'.

An alleged sexual assault on a male teenager with a beer bottle was "just a prank" that's been blown out of proportion by the media, says a lawyer for two of the men charged.

Four Brisbane men aged 19 to 21, including two aspiring Australian rules footballers, have been charged with rape over the January 26 incident.

Defence lawyer Eugene O'Sullivan is representing two of the men and complained at a court mention that they had been subjected to "trial by media" over the "prank".

"It's a Jackass type of thing ... there's no rape, it's a simulated rape," Mr O'Sullivan told a Brisbane magistrate on Monday.

"There's no reason why this should have any press coverage which is adverse to these four boys, because it's just silly.

"It should be handled in a proper way by the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions), and it should be mediated and it should be dismissed.

"It's just a prank. There's no rape involved. No bottle went through this bloke's anus."

Police allege the 19-year-old victim was raped with a glass bottle while passed out at an Australia Day party in Kedron, in Brisbane's north.

He only found out about it after a video of the alleged assault was uploaded to Facebook.

Three of the men faced court on Monday.

The fourth appeared last week when Mr O'Sullivan made a failed bid to have bail conditions banning the men from having contact relaxed to accommodate their football training schedule.

None have entered a plea.

Their bail was continued and their cases adjourned until November 30.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Bottle 'rape' a media beat-up: lawyer | SBS News