Lawyer for rapist Ralph Carr urges court to halt case

Lawyer for rapist Ralph Carr urges court to halt case, likening it to that of last man hanged in Victoria In short: A lawyer for rapist celebrity agent Ralph Carr has asked the court to halt sentencing of his client, likening the case to that of the last man to be hanged in Victoria. Prosecutors described the application as an inappropriate attempt to attract media attention. What's next? The pre-sentence hearing continues tomorrow. Prosecutors have called on a County Court judge not to delay sentencing rapist celebrity agent Ralph Carr after his defence team made a rare legal move to halt the case. Last month, a jury found Carr guilty of raping a woman at his West Melbourne home three years ago, an allegation he denied. A longstanding suppression order was also lifted, identifying Carr. The complainant was the key witness in the case, and gave evidence in front of the jury for at least five days. Today, defence barrister Dermot Dann KC argued that the judge, Frank Gucciardo, should postpone plans to sentence Carr next week. The move, known as a "stay", would open the door for Carr to apply for bail ahead of a legal challenge in the Court of Appeal. Mr Dann said it was the first time in 35 years he had made such an application, and described the jury verdict as "the most obvious miscarriage of justice I've ever seen". "Anyone who was in court who saw and heard the complainant give evidence in this trial should be very, very concerned; very, very uncomfortable about the guilty verdicts," he said. "Anyone who does feel comfortable with verdicts has lost sight of what justice is and what justice means." However, prosecutor Matthew Fisher accused Mr Dann of making a "political and emotional" speech that was inappropriate and questioned whether it was designed to attract media attention. Mr Fisher said the jury was aware of "issues" with some aspects of the complainant's evidence, but still decided beyond reasonable doubt that she was raped by Carr. "Your honour should not entertain the stay application," he said. In calling for a stay of sentence, Mr Dann referenced the cases of Robert Tait and Ronald Ryan, two men sentenced to hanging in Victoria in the 60s. Tait's death sentence was eventually stayed, but Ryan's was not, making him the final man to be hanged in Australia. Judge Gucciardo told Mr Dann his client was not the first person found guilty to proclaim their innocence and said it was not his task to re-assess the evidence considered by the jury. "What we had was a very conscientious jury who listened to the evidence, who listened to your very complete and, may I say, exceptional cross-examination of the complainant," the judge said. "The whole process was exactly as it should have been." In scenes that resembled a mock appeal, Mr Dann outlined 16 pieces of evidence the defence was challenging, pointing to alleged inconsistencies with the woman's account of the night in question and other events. Carr began crying in the court dock as Mr Dann described his mental health issues and history of suicide attempts. Yesterday, he said Carr was in "a living hell" while in an isolated prison cell for 23 hours a day. However, Mr Fisher, for the prosecution, said the court should be "circumspect" when considering evidence from Carr's psychiatrist about his mental health. "There's a great deal of speculation about how things might eventuate if the accused man remains in custody for a significant period of time," he said. Prosecutors are expected to address the judge further about the nature of Carr's offending and the impact on the victim tomorrow. If the judge refuses Carr's stay application, he is likely to be sentenced next Thursday. He could spend months in jail before the case is brought before Victoria's Court of Appeal.