A man who was allegedly raped in a carpark toilet multiple times by former NSW MP Rory Amon when he was 13 years old told the former Northern Beaches councillor he was aged 17 before they met up, the defence has suggested.
But the complainant disputed the account in the NSW Supreme Court trial on Monday, saying it was “well and truly not possible” and Amon knew he was underage.
Amon, 35, is fighting 10 child sexual abuse charges over two incidents in 2017. They include five counts of sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 10 and 14.
During his testimony, the complainant said that he made an account on the adult hook-up site “squirt.org” in mid-2017, when he was 13. He said he told the website he was 18 due to its guidelines and made his profile photo feature his upper body to remain anonymous.
He said the pair connected and began flirting before he accepted Amon’s request to move the chat to the message-deleting app Snapchat.
The Crown’s case is that the boy told Amon he was 15 and that Amon, who was 27 at the time, told the boy he was 17.
After exchanging photos and messages which left the man feeling “giddy and excited” at the prospect of a romantic relationship, he testified they met up at his parents’ Northern Beaches apartment, where he lived.
The complainant described Amon parking further away than needed and guiding him down a dimly lit corridor to a shared toilet in the apartment carpark, making him feel “a bit scared”.
Amon is accused of sexually assaulting the boy multiple times inside the toilet on this occasion and again one to two weeks later inside the same toilet. The boy said Amon tried to meet up again, but he blocked him because he “knew it was so gross and didn’t want to do it again”.
He said he confided in the incidents with his wellbeing teacher, friends, mum and police. However, he did not proceed with a formal investigation until several years later, after he learned Amon was in his thirties and a Northern Beaches councillor.
On Monday, Amon’s lawyer, Matthew Johnston, SC, questioned the now-22-year-old’s version of events.
The complainant agreed that he told police in a September 2022 interview: “I didn’t tell Rory my real age. I think I said I was 15.”
Johnston asked if he used the word “think” because he “didn’t have a definite recollection of what you actually said”.
The man responded that that was “incorrect” and that his memory is “quite clear”, but that “we are advised by police [when taking statements] to be very cautious of what we say is definite and what is not”.
Later, Johnston asked: “Wasn’t it actually the case that you actually said you were 17?”
“Sorry, are you suggesting that I said I was 17?” the complainant responded. “That is well and truly not possible. I am certain that that is impossible.”
The man testified that he believed Amon told him he was 17, but that he thought Amon was in his early 20s. When asked if Amon’s profile indicated that he was 27, he said he was “certain that that is not true”.
Johnston doubted other aspects of the man’s evidence, including suggesting he connected with Amon on the gay dating app “Grinder” instead of “squirt.org”, that he was the one who led Amon to the toilet and that they met only once in person.
The man disagreed with all assertions.
The lawyer took the man to evidence of messages and meetings with friends around the time of the alleged assaults, suggesting that their timeline contradicted his recounted incident dates.
“There were two incidents – for lack of better words – regarding meetings between the defendant and myself,” the man said.
“The second occasion did not appear out of thin air.”
Asked about his evidence that he understood “squirt.org” was “a social media application that was used for gay men to meet and essentially have sex”, the man said he “would like to clarify” that he now has a “lot more understanding about the nature of that kind of undertaking”.
“In 2017, of course, I can read things and understand things, but I … was also under the assumption that I would meet a partner, like something romantic would come from it… My judgment was obviously faulty,” he said.
The complainant earlier described the impacts of the alleged sexual assaults on his mental health, grades and self-worth.
“I just felt very detached from reality,” he told the court.
The trial before Acting Justice Robert Allan Hulme continues.
Anyone needing support can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028, Lifeline 13 11 14, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
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