Vic boss jailed for raping female employee

A Melbourne business owner who raped a young female employee after coaxing her into drinking to excess has been jailed for seven years.

The woman, who had just turned 18, had worked for the man for less than two weeks when he raped her in the back of his car.

The Victorian County Court was on Monday told the 34-year-old Mitcham man had engaged in sexually explicit conversation with the woman before inviting her to a city bar in November 2011.

He bought her six or seven vodka drinks before driving her away, the court was told.

The court was told the man pulled over in a dead-end street and forced himself on the girl, despite her repeated protests.

Judge Anthony Howard said the man had abused the power entrusted to him as an employer.

"There was a power imbalance between you and the victim and you cruelly exploited her naivety and vulnerability," Judge Howard said.

The woman told the court she had suffered anxiety and struggled to trust people since the attack.

Judge Howard said the man, who was found guilty at trial of a single charge of rape, had shown no remorse for his crime.

He sentenced the man to seven years in prison, with a non-parole period of five years.