A man accused of stealthing two sex workers "saw an opportunity to take what he wanted", a prosecutor has told a jury.
"He decided that he wanted it, and he took it, and he did so without their consent," the prosecutor said during a closing address on Tuesday, May 19.
Yolynn Chetty, known as Owen Chetty, is facing a trial in the ACT Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to two counts of having sexual intercourse without consent.
The charges relate to two alleged acts of stealthing, which occurs when a person secretly removes a condom without a sexual partner's consent.
It is alleged that the 41-year-old booked a professional escort's services at his apartment in August 2023 and secretly removed the condom during sex.
The court further heard that in January 2024, Chetty booked a service with a sex worker at a Canberra brothel and allegedly had sex with her without a condom, despite the business not offering "natural services".
During closing arguments on Tuesday, the Crown prosecutor said while it was not disputed that the two women agreed to provide sexual services to Chetty, they did not consent to unprotected sex.
"No matter your profession, you have the right to refuse any form of sexual contact," she said.
The jury heard that Chetty booked the first woman's "porn star" service, which included sexual intercourse and was advertised at $800 an hour. The prosecutor said that when the escort arrived at Chetty's apartment, the pair spent considerable time chatting and she initially enjoying his company.
She alleged that they had sex towards the end of the four-hour encounter, during which the escort handed Chetty a condom and specifically told him she did not provide "natural services".
"Therefore, he knew that he didn't have consent to have sex without a condom on," the prosecutor told the jury.
Afterwards, the escort allegedly discovered the condom sitting unused on his couch. Realising he had not worn protection, she "couldn't get out of there quick enough," the prosecutor said.
The jury heard that as she was leaving, the two had a brief discussion about payment. Although she had stayed at the apartment for four hours, she allegedly told Chetty that she would only charge him for the last two hours. However, he paid her just $1000.
The following day, she texted Chetty to ask for the remaining $600 and confronted him over the lack of protection.
"You put my health at risk with not using the condom," one of her messages read.
Chetty replied that he asked her if they could have unprotected sex and she said yes, while also denying they agreed on a $1600 fee.
In January 2024, Chetty booked a session at a Canberra brothel and allegedly repeatedly requested "natural services"
A different sex worker- the second woman he is alleged to have assaulted - took over the booking from a colleague.
The second alleged victim and her colleague gave evidence during the trial that Chetty acted erratically throughout the booking, at times "eating cocaine" and watching pornography on his phone.
The prosecutor alleged that within the first hour of his time with the second sex worker, Chetty digitally penetrated the woman from behind and then had sexual intercourse without a condom.
The alleged victim previously testified in the trial that she only extended the booking into a second hour because she felt she had to defuse the situation. With no security on-site at the brothel, she felt there was no one who could make her feel safe, leaving her with no choice but to try and manage his behavior herself, the prosecutor said.
In both instances of alleged stealthing, the prosecutor argued that Chetty was positioned behind the women and took advantage of his placement to remove the condom.
"He saw an opportunity to take what he wanted and that's precisely what he did," the prosecutor told the jury.
Chetty's defence barrister Michael Gleeson told the jury that the evidence in both cases "simply doesn't stack up".
Addressing the first allegation, Mr Gleeson argued that the escort did give her consent to have sexual intercourse without a condom.
He claimed the decision to not use a condom was built on a shared natural chemistry between the pair, which he said was evident in their text exchanges prior to the booking.
He also challenged the escort's timeline, arguing it was implausible for sex to have taken place toward the end of the booking because it left a significant amount of time unaccounted for before she left.
Instead, Mr Gleeson said it was more plausible for the jury to believe that the pair were comfortable with each other and engaged in consensual, unprotected sex twice before the woman fell asleep for two hours.
"There is no logical reason why the intimacy would have been delayed for several hours," he said.
Mr Gleeson described the circumstances surrounding the booking and payment expectations as "a confusing situation". During the trial, Chetty testified that he believed he was only expected to pay $800 and had transferred an additional $200 as a tip.
While the escort requested another $600 to help with "personal problems," Chetty maintained there was never any official agreement to pay that amount.
Turning to the second allegation at the brothel, Mr Gleeson claimed that no sexual intercourse took place and the contact was limited to oral sex.
He questioned why the woman did not cancel the booking or leave if the alleged crime had occurred.
"One of the things you have to consider is that she didn't raise the alarm because this event simply didn't happen," he told the jury.
"Why did she continue the booking? It makes little or no sense."
He argued the evidence presented to the court showed that the sex worker was initially uncertain about the alleged stealthing until she later read media reports about Chetty's earlier alleged offending.
"She had an honest but mistaken belief that something happened," he said.
He also described aspects of the woman's evidence, including allegations of cocaine use, as "a clear embellishment" and said CCTV footage played to the court showed he did not appear to be erratic.
The jury is set to begin deliberations later this week.
