Castletown man Brady Swann was found guilty of attempted aggravated sexual assault and criminal damage. Photo: supplied.
Sexual assault accused Brady Swann will face sentencing in November for attempting to sexually penetrate his former long-term partner without consent and damaging her phone.
Swann was indicted on four charges but the jury found the State could not prove all allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
He was acquitted on two counts of sexual penetration without consent.
During the five-day trial, the court was shown interview recordings, images, and witness testimonies detailing the events that allegedly occurred in his Castletown home on September 19, 2023.
The complainant, who had previously been in a relationship with Swann for seven years, said she went to his house to pick up the children but ended up staying the night in his bed after sharing a few “strong” alcoholic beverages with him.
She said she was awoken at around 1am by Swann’s raised voice telling her to “stop lying.”
She said on two occasions during the night Swann locked the bedroom door and pinned her to the bed before she alleged that he sexually assaulted her.
She alleged that he assaulted her on a third occasion in one of their children’s bedrooms.
She said she did not leave the house that night because she was scared about her children’s welfare.
During examination she told the court that Swann grabbed her phone and deleted messages she had sent to her friend for help.
In an interview with the police the following day, Swann admitted to deleting the messages because “it was none of [the friend’s] business.
In the tape shown in court, he also admitted to breaking the victim’s phone, but his recollection of the night was somewhat inconsistent with the victim’s account.
Swann told police the argument escalated when the complainant started hitting and punching him in the head.
He said he restrained her and admitted to pulling both his and her pants off on two occasions but said both times he collapsed on the floor in a foetal position because he realised “what he was about to do.”
“Penetration without consent I guess,” he told police.
I had this sudden sense of f*** it, it’s not going to get any better.
In the interview, Swann said he had been “jealous” and “quite controlling” after he found out about the victim’s “infidelity” during their relationship and said he had taken her phone on the night because of “trust issues.”
He maintained his innocence throughout the interview and trial, claiming he never sexually penetrated the complainant.
Swann’s defence lawyer Ashlee Taylor argued the victim was a “liar” and said she had accused him of such acts because she was facing financial difficulties.
She said during her cross examination the complainant had avoided giving simple straight forward answers.
“This is her cash cow,” Ms Taylor said.
“We say there was no attempt at sexual penetration.
“She had every opportunity to leave.
“She was so scared about leaving the kids, yet she left the kids with him the next day.”
State prosecutor Shaban Azad said Swann was not being honest.
Mr Azad presented images of the victim’s bruises on her arms and legs, and results from forensic tests taken at the hospital the day after the incident.
He played a tape recording of a police interview with one of the victim’s young children who witnessed parts of the altercation.
Before handing down the verdict, Judge Mara Barone told the jury they should “use common sense and collective life experiences” to “assess the evidence dispassionately.”
The jury asked counsel whether they could downgrade two of Swann’s charges to attempted sexual penetration without consent but both parties refused the request, stating he either did or did not do it.
Swann will remain on bail until November 14.
Judge Barone said he was not to approach within 25 metres of the victim and said he must report to Esperance police three times per week.
Swann is set to face a second trial on six charges of recording visually a private activity to which a defendant is a party.
His trial date will be allocated in court on November 4.
