Three men have been jailed for their role in the rape of an unconscious friend with a glass bottle at an Australia Day party after emotional supporters were stunned by a guilty verdict.
The 18-year-old man had passed out drunk in a bedroom when Bailey Hayes-Gordon, also 18, repeatedly penetrated his anus with the bottle.
Nicholas Jackson, 19, held the victim down while Jacob Watson, 18, filmed the incident on his phone and shared parts of it on Snapchat.
In a Facebook conversation the next day, Hayes-Gordon posted screenshots of the video and wrote: "(He) passed out so we stuck a bottle up his arse and he just took it".
"Funniest thing I've ever seen, legit. The whole end of the bottle disappeared".
Bailey Hayes-Gordon arrives at the District Court in Brisbane, Friday, July 28, 2017. Source: AAP
Watson and Jackson also made crude Facebook comments.
All three were sentenced to two years' jail, suspended after six months spent in custody.
The victim, who was not physically injured, had no memory of the 2015 incident and described it as "f***ed up".
He complained to police several months later after the video was shared in separate Facebook conversations that included his younger brother and girlfriend.
Hayes-Gordon, who at trial denied actually penetrating the victim, told the man's sibling the video was "your brother getting analled".
Jacob Watson leaves the District Court in Brisbane, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Source: AAP
A fourth man, 21-year-old Frazer Eaton, was given a wholly suspended 18-month jail sentence in February after he pleaded guilty to holding the young man's shoulders and spreading his buttocks during the incident.
Eaton testified against the other men and denied he gave evidence in exchange for a lighter penalty.
After hearing four days of evidence in the Brisbane District Court it took the jury only a few hours on Friday to find Hayes-Gordon, Jackson and Watson guilty of rape.
Family and friends howled inconsolably as each verdict was handed down, with one woman crying: "I'm going to kill myself".
Judge Anthony Rafter warned people in the public gallery to contain their emotions and not to shout out after a person had been heard calling witness Eaton a "liar".
"The verdicts can't come as any surprise to anyone who has seen the evidence in this case," Judge Rafter said.
Hayes-Gordon and Jackson wept openly in the dock as they were sentenced while Watson pursed his lips together and looked back at distraught supporters.
Judge Rafter said it was unusual for a rape to involve no sexual gratification, but that was "cold comfort" to the victim whose body had been violated.
Nicholas Jackson leaves the District Court in Brisbane, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Source: AAP
"None of you were appalled or disgusted by what had taken place," he said.
"This can't be classified as harmless hijinks."
Judge Rafter said he was not confident the men fully appreciated the impact their actions had had on the victim, despite apologising to him through their lawyer in November last year.
