Ballarat man on trial for alleged rape of 16-year-old

Prosecutors say a Ballarat man raped a 16-year-old and later denied the accusation when she asked what his girlfriend would think about it.

Lachlan Young has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, with his defence team telling a County Court jury he refuted allegations that any sexual intercourse occurred.

Prosecutor Andrew Buckland read a transcript of Snapchat messages between the pair, which occurred weeks after the alleged rape at Mr Young's neighbour's property on February 5, 2024.

"How's ya Missus, how would she feel about u f***ing an underage and cheating on her," the girl wrote on February 11.

In a message on February 29, she wrote, "Did you tell [your neighbour] about the night u f***ed me".

The next day, Young replied: "what are you on about?"

"Ur pathetic Lachie u literally f***ed me even though I said no at [the neighbour's] house," the girl responded.

Mr Young then blocked her, preventing further communication.

Mr Young first met the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at his neighbour's Sebastopol house on February 4, 2024.

Mr Buckland said Mr Young, then aged 21, was socialising with teenagers, some of whom were visiting from another Victorian town.

The prosecutor said in the early hours of February 5, Mr Young sent a Snapchat message to the girl saying he wanted to "do things".

"Come on please, just 5 minutes and I'll make it worth it," Mr Young is alleged to have said, when she told him she was 16.

The girl agreed to meet Mr Young in the backyard where the pair engaged in consensual sexual touching, Mr Buckland said.

However, the prosecutor said, Mr Young then forced the teenager to have sexual intercourse against her will.

"When the accused stopped he looked at [the complainant] and said, 'You should probably go back inside before people start looking for you'."

Later on February 5, Mr Young is alleged to have messaged the girl, "We didn't do much anyway".

Mr Buckland said the girl later disclosed allegations of the rape to a school counsellor and participated in a police interview on April 2, 2024.

Defence barrister Glenn Casement said consensual sexual touching did occur between his client and the teenager, but denied it went any further.

He said the complainant's credibility and reliability would be the key issue for the jury to assess.

Mr Casement told the jury to listen out for changes in the complainant's story, which he said may play out in pre-recorded evidence played in court.

The defence barrister said the complainant found out about the existence of Mr Young's girlfriend and was "confronting him" about his honesty when she messaged him on February 11, 2024.

"At the end of this trial are you going to be left with troubling concerns on your hands about the role that this has played in the case?"

The trial, before Judge Caitlin English, continues.