Strip club security guard charged with raping woman in park

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His release was granted despite prosecutors claiming in court that he made comments during phone calls to the prison that raised concerns about the safety of his co-defendants and alleged victims.

Corey Robert Miller was arrested in March and charged with rape, attempted rape and fraud.

Southport Local Court was told this week that the 26-year-old allegedly targeted two women he met after they responded to his online advert offering sexual services for $1,000.

Representing the Crown, Aleesha Buckby told the court that Mr Miller attacked the two women in a park in Labrador on January 22 and February 27.

Ms Buckby said it was alleged the first woman began performing oral sex but withdrew her consent when Mr Miller became violent.

The court was told that he apologised and the pair returned to their original meeting point when Mr Miller allegedly grabbed the woman by the hair and pulled her to the ground, forcing her to perform oral sex again.

She soon fled and called emergency number 0.

Ms Buckby said the second woman’s hands were initially tied behind her back with cable ties as Mr Miller attempted to force her to perform oral sex, but her hands were then removed at her request to allow subsequent sexual acts to be carried out in the presence of his co-defendant, 28-year-old Ashley Vella.

Mr Vella is charged with two counts each of sexual abuse while accompanied by an armed guard, rape and one count of sexual abuse.

The court was told that Mr Vella was allegedly present at parts of both incidents but only assaulted the second woman, while Mr Miller attempted to force both women to have sexual intercourse with his co-accused despite their protests.

Ms Buckby said the two men allegedly left the second woman in a public toilet and Mr Miller subsequently refused to pay the agreed amount or the taxi ride home she requested.

She told the court that there were alleged text messages from Mr Miller to Mr Vella saying things like “She’s tied up with cable ties, she can’t run away” and that cut cable ties had been found on the ground in the park.

The court was told that Mr Miller – who was working as a security guard at a strip club at the time – allegedly “turned against his co-defendant” while in custody.

“He has made several alarming comments in telephone calls which raise concerns about the safety of his co-defendant … (and) the safety of the plaintiffs,” Ms Buckby said.

Defense attorney Matthew Hynes, hired by Rawlings Criminal Law, said the case against his client was not clear-cut and there were several inconsistencies in the alleged victims’ statements.

Mr Hynes said the first woman had reported previous sexual abuse and may have experienced a “translated memory” when what was originally consensual oral sex with Mr Miller turned violent. The second woman had talked about bringing sex toys to the meeting.

“Honestly, I don’t know what the rape is … each time (the second woman) took positive actions to confirm or implicitly confirm what she was willing to do,” Mr Hynes said.

“The concern for her came when she (allegedly) wasn’t paid and she said, ‘This is not OK, if you don’t pay me I’m going to the police.'”

Mr Hynes said that Mr Miller initially thought his co-defendant had made a statement against him and that there was no follow-up to the “empty threats” allegedly made at the time.

He said his client had no criminal record and could no longer work as a security guard because his license was revoked after the charges were filed.

The court was told that Mr Miller instead planned to attend TAFE and would live with his parents if released on bail.

Judge Joan White granted Mr Miller bail on a number of strict conditions, agreeing that the case was not a clear-cut one and that the evidence would be examined in court.

His and Mr Vella’s cases are scheduled to return to court on August 15.