Woman describes alleged 'Tinder date' gang rape
A woman claims she was forced to have sex with three men after meeting another on Tinder, but their lawyers say she is lying about consent.
Giving evidence at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday, the woman told a jury she cried as the men raped her one by one.
"I said I didn't want to. I didn't want to do it," the woman told the court.
READ MORE: Sydney teacher, 30, charged after alleged sex with teenage boy
Omar El-Sayed initially denied having sex as he was engaged to be married, his lawyer said. Duncan Murray/AAP Photos
Omar El-Sayed, 26, Rami Katlan, 26 and Mohammed Ali, 22, have pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of aggravated sexual assault in company.
Adam Ahamd Kabbout, 27, who the woman had initially met on the dating app, is also facing charges as the alleged crimes' facilitator, despite there being no allegation he engaged in sexual activity with the woman himself.
He has pleaded not guilty to six counts of aggravated sexual assault in company.
Prosecutors allege that in the early hours of April 16, 2022 the woman met Kabbout at her apartment at Belmore, in southwest Sydney.
The woman told the court after kissing Kabbout on her bed for some time, she went to take a shower in an en-suite bathroom.
READ MORE: Dramatic scenes as driver ploughs into church foyer while group inside
Adam Kabbout leaves Downing Centre District Court where he is on trial accused of the gang rape of a woman at Belmore last year is on trial, Tuesday 6th of August 2024. Dion Georgopoulos / The Sydney Morning Herald
When she emerged, the woman says she found El-Sayed, Katlan and Ali in her living room.
The woman said she asked Kabbout, "Who are they? What are they doing here?" and told him she wanted the men to leave.
Instead, the woman claims the three men she had never met entered the bedroom one by one and raped her, despite her repeated objections.
"I said that I didn't want to do it, but I was scared so I did it," the woman told the court.
The woman said Kabbout would come in and out of the room while she was having sex with the other men.
"He would just watch what we were doing. He would just come and look," she told the court.
Rami Katlan (in the mask) leaves Downing Centre District Court where he is on trial accused of the gang rape of a woman at Belmore last year is on trial, Tuesday 6th of August 2024. Dion Georgopoulos / The Sydney Morning Herald
After allegedly being raped by Ali, the woman says she again told Kabbout she wanted the men to leave.
"He said, 'OK, your loss', and then they left," the woman told the court.
Lawyers for the men said it was not in dispute that El-Sayed, Katlan and Ali all had sex with the woman, but they dismissed her version of events as untruthful.
Ali's lawyer Julia-Ann Hickleton said the woman told police that after the men left she curled herself into a ball and cried before eventually falling asleep.
"Heart-wrenching if it was true, but it's not," Ms Hickleton said.
"It is a deliberate and calculated lie."
El-Sayed's lawyer James Trevallion said his client initially denied having sex with the woman when questioned by police as at the time he was engaged to be married.
"After that night he felt ashamed and embarrassed," he said.
"He was about to get married. He cheated on his fiancée."
Kabbout's lawyer April Francis told jurors they might not be familiar with the "anonymity of intimacy" involved with Tinder and online dating in general.
"People can lie or misrepresent the true state of affairs for all sorts of reasons," she said.
"Sometimes the reasons never become apparent."
The trial continues.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
