Textual content messages despatched by a former senior Cricket Australia worker after a colleague accused him of allegedly performing a intercourse act on him whereas he was asleep have been learn to a courtroom.
Timothy Joseph Whittaker, 38, took the stand on the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court docket on Monday at his contested listening to for 2 allegations of inappropriate sexual touching with out consent.
Mr Whittaker, Cricket Australia’s former head of communications who spoke for the organisation through the Cape City ball tampering scandal in 2018, has pleaded not responsible and denies the allegations.
He stands accused of touching two colleagues’ penises in separate alleged incidents in January 2016 and March 2019.
Each males have claimed they allegedly awoke in Mr Whittaker’s mattress, after nights of heavy ingesting, to search out him rubbing their penises.
Former Cricket Australia head of communications Timothy Whittaker (pictured) stands accused of sexual assault
Prosecutor Sharn-Adelle Coombes learn a number of textual content messages despatched by Mr Whittaker to 1 man shortly after he left the accused man’s condo about 5.30am.
She advised the courtroom Mr Whittaker texted the person at 5.36am saying; ‘yo the place are you?’, earlier than receiving a short cellphone name in response.
Minutes later he fired off extra messages studying: ‘You simply cannot ring me and say that mate’.
‘Sorry however what the precise f**okay,’ the message learn.
‘Come up and have a drink… there is not any f**king approach I used to be doing that dude.
‘You possibly can’t simply say that s**t and grasp up.’
Beneath cross-examination, Mr Whittaker agreed he despatched these texts however stated it was to ‘collect extra info’.
‘(From the cellphone name) I knew he was accusing me of one thing, however I could not make it out,’ he stated.
‘It was stunning….I wasn’t comprehending. I needed to observe up with him and see if we are able to speak about this.’
He advised the courtroom he was barely awake on the time and ‘processing’ what was alleged, saying it was a ‘dumb name’ to ask the person up for a drink.
Mr Whittaker advised the courtroom he didn’t have a sexual curiosity within the complainants and denied even being in mattress with both man.
He stated within the first alleged incident, in 2016, he slept on the sofa whereas the person and a good friend took his mattress, whereas in 2019 he slept in his mattress after the alleged sufferer fell asleep on his sofa.
Whittaker, 38, has pleaded not responsible to allegations of inappropriate sexual touching with out consent involving two former male colleagues stemming from separate nights out in 2016 and 2019
Earlier, the courtroom heard the primary complainant stated didn’t report the alleged incident till 2021 as a result of he believed Mr Whittaker was asleep and gave him the advantage of the doubt.
He advised human sources at Cricket Australia in December 2021 he now suspected Mr Whittaker was pretending to be asleep after listening to ‘rumours’ of different complaints.
The second complainant advised the courtroom he had no reminiscence of allegedly shifting from Mr Whittaker’s sofa to his mattress following an finish of season Cricket Australia occasion in March 2019.
He claimed when he awoke, Mr Whittaker allegedly rolled over and pretended to be asleep.
Ms Coombes advised the courtroom there was a ‘stark similarity’ between the 2 allegations.
‘The complainants are unknown to one another, there is not any suggestion they’ve spoken or have any information of one another,’ she stated.
On Monday, Justice of the Peace Timothy Gattuso rejected a no-case submission by Mr Whittaker’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, to search out his shopper not responsible of the primary allegation.
He had argued that, whereas the defence didn’t concede there was sexual touching, the prosecution had not confirmed Mr Whittaker was awake when the alleged act occurred.
‘He (the alleged sufferer) stated he believed for years he was asleep,’ Mr Dann stated.
‘His final place is, as a result of he is heard a hearsay, he is modified his thoughts. The defect goes to a central factor of the case.’
Beneath Victorian legislation, prosecutors should show an individual accused of sexual offending made a aware, voluntary and deliberate choice to interact within the conduct.
However Ms Coombes argued the proof of the alleged sufferer was that Mr Whittaker allegedly had his hand down the complainant’s pants and made a ‘deliberate motion’.
The listening to continues.
