Australia: Model accuses Indian of rape

An Indian man allegedly raped a budding lingerie model in Australia after he promised her a break in the industry posing as an employee in a fashion firm, a court was told on Monday.

Using the pseudonym "James Carter", the accused, Paul Rajendran used a fake profile on 'MySpace to arrange a meeting with the 23-year-old woman in early March last year, SydneyMorning Herald reported.

Prior to the meeting in Sydney's Central Business District, the pair exchanged a string of e-mails with Rajendran falsely claiming that he worked for the lingerie firm 'La Perla.', it said.

During their meeting the duo consumed several drinks in the Tank Stream Bar about 7.30pm and discussed the possibility of her modelling for the company, prosecutor Eric Balodis told jurors at beginning of Rajendran's trial in Sydney today.

Balodis alleged that shortly afterwards Rajendran took the girl to a office block in Hunter Street and before raping her he laid out 'La Perla' pictures on a desk.

"She was sitting on a chair in front of the desk. The accused came over and sat by her and kissed her," Balodis said adding ,"She said 'I didn't come here for that'".

"At this stage she was so intoxicated, so drunk and so scared she was crying. Rajendran then knelt between her legs and had sexual intercourse with the woman. He told her

afterwards 'I'll make you into a really good model if you don't tell anyone',"  Balodis told the court.

She left the building shortly after 10 pm (local time) and walked to the Royal George pub, in George Street, where the police were called, the newspaper said.

A hospital examination later revealed the woman had a blood alcohol level of 0.14, almost three times over the legal drink-drive limit.

Rajendran also faces actual bodily harm charges relating to abrasions said to have been found on the woman's back after the attack, it said.

Shortly after the alleged attack, police issued a warning to aspiring models not to use the internet to get a start in the modelling industry.

Rajendran's lawyer told jurors the sex was consensual and that at no stage did he force the alleged victim to do anything against her will.

The girl appeared briefly in court via CCTV at the end of the first day of the trial, confirming she had been recommended to contact Rajendran via MySpace by another woman and that they had exchanged emails.

The Downing centre district court trial continues before Judge Deborah Payne and is expected to last seven days.