A man has been captured on CCTV raping and indecently assaulting an unconscious woman while her children were asleep in the next room.
"I woke up and he was having sex with me," the victim told a friend after the incident.
"I had the cameras turned on but I've been too scared to watch it."
Benjamin Rue, 43, hung his head and wiped away tears during his ACT Supreme Court sentence hearing on Friday.
The married tattooist has admitted to sexual intercourse without consent and committing an act of indecency without consent, with both charges rolled up to cover multiple acts.
Rue attended the victim's home, where the woman sold drugs on occasion, in the early morning of July 27, 2020, when he purchased gamma butyrolactone, or GBL.
The pair used the amphetamine in a bed situated below a CCTV camera, which the victim activated that morning due to having a "weird" or "bad" feeling.
The 50-minute-long footage was not played in court, "purely for the purpose of preserving the victim's dignity", but prosecutor James Melloy asked Justice Louise Taylor to watch it in chambers.
Rue is recorded "testing the waters" of the drug-affected victim's responsiveness by touching her legs.
He is seen immediately removing his hand when she loudly says: "Woah."
He then indecently assaults the victim multiple times, and for an extended period of time, while she is "entirely non-responsive".
The woman is recorded snoring at times during the 14 minutes this initial conduct is captured for, with Rue only stopped by the woman regaining consciousness at one stage.
The offending then continues and stops every time the woman "stirred".
"He knew she wasn't consenting," the prosecutor told the court.
Rue then raped the woman in multiple ways.
Agreed facts state the victim "started to become more responsive" during this offending.
Her actions include suddenly sitting up "in shock" before lying back down.
However, the victim only recalled regaining consciousness while "Mr Rue was engaging in penile-vaginal sexual intercourse".
It is accepted Rue initially acted knowing the victim was unconscious, but questions as to his recklessness during the latter offending were raised on Friday.
Debate included whether the woman's movements and perceived responses could have led the man to a "mistaken view" the victim was consenting.
"Your honour cannot be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he had actual knowledge the victim was not consenting," defence barrister Joshua Nottle said regarding the offending constituting rape.
Mr Melloy said the offender's state of mind, that is, knowing the woman was unconscious, did not change when he began raping her.
"He continued to pursue his own sexual gratification," the prosecutor said.
Mr Melloy accepted her responsiveness eventually changed.
The prosecutor said Rue was "emboldened" by the intoxicated and "particularly vulnerable" woman's initial lack of response.
The victim said watching the footage later with a friend made her feel "scared" and "sick".
No prior romantic or sexual relationship existed between the pair.
The court heard the man showed "genuine remorse" for his crimes before Justice Taylor expressed concern about Rue stopping his "lengthy engagement in illicit substance use".
Rue has spent two days in custody for the offending and is set to receive his sentence later this month.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Canberra Rape Crisis Centre: 6247 2525; Phone Lifeline:13 11 14; beyondblue:1300 224 636.
