A former Australian boxing champion told a friend he tried to “sniff” a teenage girl he was accused of raping, a court has been told.
Marc Bargero is standing trial in the NSW District Court after he was charged with the alleged aggravated sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl at Belrose on Sydney’s northern beaches.
The 53-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the assault charge, along with two counts of intentionally sexually touching a child aged over 10 but under 16.
As the trial entered its second day on Wednesday, the woman whose home the alleged assault occurred in appeared to give evidence.
The court heard she was the mother of one of the alleged victim’s friends and that a group of teens was drinking and smoking marijuana at her home on the night of June 6, 2020.
The woman met Mr Bargero on an online dating site and invited him to her home to watch a movie before the teenagers arrived to party unannounced, the court heard.
“I was very intoxicated … I was upset they’d come home,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have a male in the house if my daughter was going to be there.”
The woman said she left Mr Bargero upstairs and went downstairs to talk to the teens.
It was then she noticed the alleged victim “passed out” on the ground and later asked for her to be taken upstairs to bed, the court heard.
“I asked Marc to help me,” the woman said.
“He said, ‘Where do you want me to put her?’”
After the woman went to bed, the next thing she told the court she remembered was the alleged victim waking her up.
“She was very distressed.
“She was angry at me … she was pointing at me, screaming at me. Something was seriously wrong.
“She said, ‘I woke up with Marc coming down on me.’”
The court heard after the alleged victim made the claim, numerous other people at the party began to confront Mr Bargero and he repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
After being grilled by Mr Bargero’s barrister, the woman burst into tears as she was read out text messages and asked to confirm if Mr Bargero sent them to her after the alleged assault took place.
The court heard in the text messages Mr Bargero said he “did do something bad at the party”.
“I was very drunk,” he said.
“I took her upstairs to one of the bedrooms and put her in the bed.”
Mr Bargero said he “thought it would be funny” to relive memories of his youth, the court heard.
“Something snapped in my head,” Mr Bargero said in one of the messages.
After saying he tried to “sniff her downstairs”, the court heard Mr Bargero said the alleged victim woke up and “all hell broke loose”.
“Look I f***** up big time … I want to personally apologise,” Mr Bargero said.
The trial continues.
