The jury in the trial of Balesh Dhankhar asked to leave the courtroom this week after struggling to stomach videos of the accused man having sex with other women who are not the complainants.
Balesh Dhankhar is alleged to have drugged and sexually assaulted five Korean women while recording the attacks,sometimes with a hidden camera.Brook Mitchell,Janie Barrett
Dhankhar,a prominent member of Sydney’s Indian community,allegedly posted ads on Gumtree offering translation work to Korean-English speakers,the NSW District Court heard this month.
But police allege Dhankhar’s business was a “ruse” to get the young women to Sydney’s Hilton Hotel bar,up the road from his apartment.
Dhankhar has pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges comprised of 13 sexual assaults,17 intimate recordings without consent,six counts of using intoxicating substances to commit indictable offence,and assault with an act of indecency.
The Crown prosecutor told the jury at the opening of the trial that Dhankhar had a “particular interest” in young Korean women,and downloaded a lot of pornography featuring such women.
Dhankhar has pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault charges.Janie Barrett
He also had an interest in pornography where women were unconscious or asleep.
The prosecutor said Dhankhar had a “state of mind to satisfy his particular sexual interest” by posing as an interviewer and lying to them “so he could commit sexual acts on them and make intimate recordings of them – and do so whilst they were under the influence of a substance”.
The court heard that in October 2018 one young Korean woman met Dhankhar at the Hilton for one of his fake interviews.
In her evidence,the woman said Dhankhar took her to a Korean chicken restaurant and said he was interested in her – she told him she was not.
Prosecutors allege Dhankhar,at dinner,asked the woman if she had seen the Opera House as he knew of a good viewpoint – but he took her to his apartment instead and gave her wine.
She felt dizzy,she later told police,and from the bathroom texted her location to a friend.
“Sister,I feel very intoxicated however slightly different kind of intoxication,” her texts allegedly read.
“And I am worried myself. Keeps trying to kiss me… I am f---ed up.”
Investigators allege the woman recalled having double vision and losing control of her body as Dhankhar held her up in his apartment,trying to dance with her and kiss her.
Dhankhar allegedly posted ads on Gumtree offering translation work to Korean-English speakers.Janie Barrett
Another young woman recalled eating ice cream and having one glass of wine in his house and then nothing until a late night call to her boyfriend.
She recalled being naked and feeling dirty and dizzy,and remembers bright lights,a condom wrapper and feeling pain. She didn’t think Dhankhar had sex with her,the prosecutors said.
The woman went to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital two days later on September 16,2018,and reported him to police.
Prosecutors allege they would later find two videos on Dhankhar’s laptop of him having sex with her while she was unresponsive and making “distressed sounds”.
A third woman,according to prosecutors,met Dhankhar at the Hilton and went to the same restaurant.
After going to the bathroom she returned to the table,had a sip of soju and felt dizzy. Her final memory was being held up by Dhankhar at the counter,prosecutors told the jury.
The woman woke up in his bed dressed,with her belt missing,but did not feel hungover and went home.
She did not think he had sexual intercourse with her because she was dressed.
But police would later allegedly find ten videos of Dhankhar having sex with the mostly unresponsive woman who,at times,tried to stop him.
The jury was told Dhankhar had a “particular tendency” to record intimate images and videos of unconscious Asian and Korean women,and a particular sexual interest in them as well.
Balesh Dhankhar leaves the Downing Centre after another day of his sexual assault trial in Sydney.Janie Barrett
His barrister,Rebecca Mitchell,noted the allegations were unpleasant and confronting,but the prosecution needed to prove Dhankhar’s guilt.
She did not dispute Dhankhar posted the Gumtree ads and did not need translators,nor that he met the women named in the charges.
There is no dispute,Ms Mitchell said,that Dhankhar had a sexual interest in women and used the ad to meet them,his business was false,and he was “deceptive”. He also did not dispute having a sexual relationship with the women.
“Mr Dhankhar’s case is that each of the complainants consented to sexual acts they engaged in,” Ms Mitchell told the jury.
Dhankhar also disputes the images were made without the women’s consent and denies drugging them,the barrister said.
The police raid on Dhankhar’s apartment in October 2018 allegedly turned up DNA evidence from his bedding and a spreadsheet that mentioned women’s names.
Some entries on the spreadsheet,allegedly found on Dhankhar’s phone,mentions women being confused or angry about “Base 4 ”,which police allege is a reference to sexual intercourse.
Police allege two types of sedatives were detected in a wine and sports drink bottle in Dhankhar’s fridge,and a camera hidden inside an alarm clock,the court heard.
A hard drive was found in Dhankhar’s backpack,Sergeant Katrina Gyde,the officer in charge of the case,told the court.
Sgt Gyde,reading from police files,said officers found 47 videos of him engaged in sexual intercourse with Korean women stored in folders bearing women’s names.
Dhankhar sat silently behind his lawyers as videos were played depicting him having sex with women in his apartment.
The jury,on Tuesday,sent a note to Judge Michael King saying they wanted to go home early because of the nature of the videos.
The trial continues.
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