Sydney Man Found Not Guilty Of Rape At Oxford Street Club

A 47-year-old has been found not guilty of two counts of rape at an Oxford Street club in 2024 following a week-long trial.

David Charles Massa and the complainant, both strangers to each other, had been in the smoking area of Universal Sydney on Oxford Street in the early hours of June 1, 2024 when the incident is alleged to have occurred.

As per reporting from the Sydney Morning Herald, the court heard the complainant kissed Massa’s hand and invited him to join him and his girlfriend in the smoking area, saying he felt sorry Massa was there by himself.

He said Massa then flirted with him which he “politely declined”, before Massa allegedly reached his hand around and down the back of the complainant’s underwear, and sexually assaulted him without consent.

The victim said the incident had left him “shocked and scared”, and he couldn’t believe it had happened in such a busy place.

He said he left the nightclub quickly with his partner, and told her about the alleged assault. The jury heard he also reported the matter to medical staff and police after he woke up in pain the following morning.

Defendant told police he had “no idea what this is about”

Massa’s defence team denied any incident of sexual intercourse without consent, arguing that the sexual touching that occurred between the pair was consensual, and their interactions “flirtatious”.

Massa said the complainant left the club not because he was in shock following an assault, but because his girlfriend was angry after seeing the sexual act.

A recorded interview between Massa and police was played to the court, with the defendant telling investigations he had “no idea what this is about” and that he “didn’t sexually assault anyone”.

Massa had pleaded not guilty to two back-up charges of sexual touching without consent, which were cleared following the not guilty verdicts on the rape charges.

The trial ran for a week, with the jury retiring to deliberate on Friday and delivering their not guilty verdict to Judge Siobhan Herbert on Tuesday afternoon.

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