Melbourne court told Victorian MP 'raped woman on couch'

Melbourne, July 6 (ANI): A court here has been told that Victorian MP Theo Theophanous raped a woman on a couch in his office.

A former Victorian cabinet minister, Theophanous has been charged with raping the woman in 1998.

A committal proceeding for Theophanous in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court was told he knew the woman socially and invited her to have a look at Parliament House after they had late-evening drinks nearby.

After a brief tour of Parliament, Theophanous tried to get the women to enter an amphitheatre but the woman refused, prosecutor Michelle Williams SC told the court today.

It is alleged Theophanous and the woman then went to his office where he raped her on a red couch.

As the pair left Parliament, Theophanous allegedly told the woman: "What I like about you is that you are loyal."

Theophanous's lawyer Robert Richter described the woman as being manipulative and a fabricator of stories.

"This is the evidence of one woman against one man, a woman motivated by spite," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Richter, as saying.

Magistrate Peter Reardon and prosecution and defence teams are to go on a view of the alleged rape scene today. The hearing continues. (ANI)