A man accused of abducting a young woman from a popular Melbourne bar and raping her was allegedly seen pacing the area and looking up porn before the alleged attack.
The allegations were aired on Monday at the bail application of Motaz Alsabouni, who is charged with the rape and abduction of the 26-year-old woman about 1.44am on February 18.
Police argue Mr Alsabouni shouldn’t be granted bail and he targeted “young vulnerable females on the street”, the Melbourne Magistrates Court was told.
The young woman had been out with a friend and was intoxicated when she left the popular Collingwood bar BeerMash in the early hours of Friday morning, the court was told.
Mr Alsabouni was captured on CCTV in the area leading the woman away from Smith St and into his silver BMW, Senior Constable Terry Fiddle said.
“He is appearing to look out for other members of the public before approaching the complainant and grabbing her by the arm and then escorting her back to his vehicle,” Constable Fiddle said
The unemployed father of three was also seen on footage “loitering” around the area before the alleged abduction and during his police interview identified himself as the man seen on CCTV, the officer said.
His alleged victim belxjmtzywieved the man was a rideshare or taxi driver and gave her address to Mr Alsabouni, the court was told.
But the court was told that she noticed they were going past her home and instead she was taken to a secluded location at Northcote, several suburbs away from her home.
The woman jumped out of the car when it stopped and called a friend, leaving a voicemail where she was heard sobbing before the call ends.
“Don’t f***ing touch me,” the alleged victim is heard on the message. A male voice with an accent is also heard on the voice message, the court was told.
Police allege Mr Alsabouni pushed the woman up against a tree and raped her before leaving the scene. She was able to seek help from passers-by who took her home, the court was told.
When he was arrested, the unemployed dad denied the charges and said he tried to help her get home, Constable Fiddle said.
A police examination of Mr Alsabouni’s phone also uncovered what he was searching for around the time of the alleged abduction, the court was told.
“Police observed on the accused’s phone he had been visiting pornography sites, searching for massage parlours, messaging persons in English to solicit for sex around the approximate time of when he abducted the (victim),” Constable Fiddle said.
The woman also left her laptop in the accused’s silver BMW that was later found in another vehicle at his Roxburgh Park home during a search warrant.
Mr Alsabouni also returned to the Smith St vicinity after the alleged rape and paced the area for “several hours” and went to Chapel St at Prahran, the police officer said.
The bail application will continue next week.
