A second high-profile Melbourne man with a bulging celebrity-packed Rolodex is telling close friends that rumours he’s facing serious rape charges are untrue.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is awaiting trial for allegedly raping a young woman. He was charged with multiple rape offences in August 2023.
The accused man was also charged with attempted rape and sexual assault which relate to a lone alleged female victim.
It’s also alleged the high-profile man performed other lewd acts on the woman.
Police allege the charged offences occurred in March 2023.
The man has pleaded not guilty to all charges and will front a Melbourne County Court trial at a later date.
The accused man is not convicted rapist Tom Silvagni, who was also previously the subject of a similar suppression order. We emphasise the second man has not been convicted of a crime and the allegations against him remain untested.
Nonetheless, the Silvagni matter has drawn national attention to the Victorian court system’s habit of slapping gagging orders on men facing serious criminal charges.
The Tom Silvagni matter has drawn national attention to the Victorian court system’s habit of slapping gagging orders on men facing serious criminal charges. (Pictured: Tom Silvagni being supported by his TV star mother Jo Silvagni outside Melbourne’s County Court before he was convicted of two counts of rape and his suppression order was lifted on Thursday)
Until his order was lifted on Thursday afternoon, following his conviction the week before, Silvagni was only referred to vaguely as ‘high-profile man from famous family’.
The suppression order hiding his identity had been granted when he was first charged with rape in June 2024, with his lawyers arguing publication could lead to the deterioration of his mental health.
However, this second man – who is only accused of rape – is perhaps just as well-known. We do not suggest he has any link to the Silvagni family.
He is a familiar name across the country, but especially in Melbourne and Sydney.
While some in the community may not have heard of the accused, they would certainly know of the big names with whom he associates.
To be clear: none of the man’s associates are accused of any wrongdoing nor are they linked to the allegations against him.
Several insiders told the Daily Mail that, just like the Silvagni matter, speculation about the identity of this second Melbourne man is swirling like ‘wildfire’.
One well-connected insider said they learned the identity of the accused in about ‘half an hour’ after news broke of the charges.
Daily Mail can reveal that a second high-profile Melbourne man is facing untested rape charges and also cannot be named for legal reasons. It’s understood he is telling friends that rumours he’s before the courts are untrue – but those alleged denials about the charges were put to bed after he appeared at court for a brief pre-trial hearing on Friday morning
Another said they were well aware of the rape allegations.
Multiple sources Daily Mail spoke to – who purport to be close to the accused man – said that not only does he deny the charges against him, he has also privately denied that he is facing any criminal proceedings at all.
‘I spoke to [him] and he told me it wasn’t true. He said the charges, the trial, it wasn’t true. He said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”‘ one source said.
But the man’s alleged denial about facing serious sex charges was put to bed after he appeared at court for a brief pre-trial hearing on Friday morning.
During that hearing, the court made a ruling on which evidence will be allowed to be put before the jury.
Police previously alleged the woman, who cannot be named, was at the man’s Melbourne property at the time of the alleged offences.
A redacted form of the alleged victim’s statement to police aired during closed court proceedings was later released by the court.
The alleged victim claimed she had consumed a significant amount of alcohol and cocaine over several hours after meeting the man at his house, according to her statement to police.
She alleged both substances had been supplied by the man.
The man has pleaded not guilty to all charges and will front a Melbourne County Court trial at a later date. (Pictured: a general view of the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne)
Respected barrister Dermot Dann KC (pictured outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in January 2023 during an unrelated case) is defending the man
Other allegations were aired in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in mid-2024, including the woman claiming she had been emotional about separating from her partner at the time.
It was alleged the woman said she had been consoled by the man, who also allegedly ‘inappropriately’ kissed and touched her.
‘Every time I felt him put his hands somewhere that I didn’t like, I would push his hands away and just say “stop”,’ she said.
‘I kept saying, “I don’t want this”… he was saying things like “you’re so sexy” (and) “I can’t stop, I need your help to sleep”.’
The woman alleged the high-profile man then raped her and she punched him in the face before she could break free.
‘He immediately grabbed his face and said “you’ve broken my nose”,’ she said in the statement.
‘He recoiled and started carrying on like a baby, I got out of bed and ran around to the couch. I said, “You’re a f**king rapist.”‘
The woman claimed the man denied raping her, allegedly saying “it’s not rape, I was using my fingers,” and she also claimed the man had denied using his penis.
She said he had told her that he wanted her to leave, but she had decided to go to a spare room at his house.
A woman alleged the high-profile man raped her and she punched him in the face (stock photo)
The woman also claimed that a short time afterwards, she went to speak to him because ‘I was just confused, I wanted to hear him say he knew what happened’.
She further alleged the man started masturbating in front of her and said, ‘Come here, do it for me, I need you to do it for me,’ before she left the room.
According to the statement, the woman had texted details of her allegations to her mother, who called police.
Investigators who responded to the call recorded the woman’s allegations on body-worn camera at the scene, the court heard.
All details aired at June’s committal had remained suppressed until Friday.
The court heard evidence from witnesses, including the alleged victim, former employees of the man, a business partner and friend of the man, and police.
The man was previously the subject of a blanket suppression that barred any reporting of his matter, but that order was eased late last year.
During an earlier suppression hearing, Victoria Police informant Detective Senior Constable Joshua Guy was pressed by defence counsel Dermot Dann KC about emails the cop had sent regarding the case.
The emails included one regarding the man’s suppression order application in which Guy strongly opposed a gag order being ‘gifted’ to someone whose offending was related to his ‘arrogance’ and ‘personal status’.
Psychiatrist Dr Jacqueline Rakov told the October 2024 hearing that the accused had twice been admitted to a mental health clinic since he was charged because of fears he could harm himself.
Rakov said the man suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and had a low mood, a loss of interest in previous enjoyable activities, poor concentration and low self-confidence and sense of purpose.
The doctor said the accused was largely staying at home, not going to work or socialising, and panicked about being outside.
The accused man’s distress had increased after media coverage of an earlier court appearance, the court was told.
‘He’s said, “If I’m guilty, put it on the front page,”‘ Dr Rakov said.
The man’s bail was extended with the trial expected to commence midway through 2026. His name remains suppressed.
