A "spurned homosexual lover"? Or a severely ill young man manipulated into sex by his benefactor?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Central Local Court on Tuesday heard different portrayals of the 25-year-old alleged victim of Sir Trevor Garland, a former diplomat knighted for his services to the Solomon Islands.
Sir Trevor, 62, was arrested and charged last week with four counts of sexually assaulting the Solomon Islands man in March and April last year.
The alleged victim was staying at Sir Trevor's historic home in Sydney's west, a patient of the Ten Bed program the former honorary consul helped establish to bring sick islanders to Australia for free treatment.
Acting for the Crown, William Sit, told the court the accused had shown "quite considerable manipulation and control over a vulnerable person".
Mr Sit said while there were no direct witnesses to the assaults, the alleged victim had told numerous people of them. Sir Trevor, who oversaw patient support for the Ten Bed program, was also charged with illegally accessing the man's medical records this month.
Defence barrister Richard Battley said the Crown case was weak, based on an uncorroborated story by a "spurned homosexual lover".
His client was "a man of good character who has received public honours".
Mr Battley said while Sir Trevor had overseen the Ten Bed partnership between St Vincent's and the Solomon Islands, he had never had the power to exclude patients from it.
Sir Trevor himself required medical care for moderately severe Parkinson's disease, the court heard. He appeared wearing a green prison t-shirt via audio-visual link.
At the time of the alleged assaults, he had been serving a sentence of home detention for twice driving while disqualified, while other past offences included high-range drink driving.
Magistrate John Andrews said, "I can't gauge the prosecution case as an overly strong one", as it hinged on the alleged victim's testimony. He also noted any trial could be 18 months away.
Mr Andrews granted bail on a $100,000 surety, ordering Sir Trevor to live at his Victorian mansion "The Oaks", at Oakhurst, and report to police three times a week. He was banned from contacting prosecution witnesses and had already surrendered his passport.
Sir Trevor has been banned from entering St Vincent's grounds.
"Mr Garland is not an employee of St Vincent's Hospital Sydney and does not act on the hospital's behalf in any capacity," a spokeswoman said last week.
She said the Solomon Islands government had been responsible for overseeing Sir Trevor's role in the Ten Bed program.
Fairfax Media understands his honorary consul post was terminated by the Australian government on character grounds in 2014.
His case returns to court on March 23.