00:00 The jury has heard today that this call was recorded about a month after the alleged incidents
00:06 at the centre of this case.
00:07 So it was recorded in January 2023.
00:10 Now in the call, the complainant, who we can't identify, asks Kirtley Beale if he remembers
00:15 meeting her at Bondi's Beach Road Hotel about a month before late 2022.
00:21 She raises an allegation with Mr Beale that he touched her buttocks in the bar area and
00:27 she says that he was near her fiancé at the time.
00:31 Mr Beale apologises for that and says he does remember.
00:34 She then says that he followed her into the men's toilets and raises an allegation that
00:39 he sexually assaulted her despite her repeatedly saying no.
00:44 Kirtley Beale in this phone call, the jury has heard, has said he misjudged the whole
00:48 situation and throughout the call he repeatedly apologises to the complainant.
00:53 At one point in the recording he asks her, "Are you recording?"
00:57 She says no and then he begins to talk about the fact that he's worried that she may take
01:01 things further.
01:02 The woman tells him that she needs time to process things.
01:06 So Kirtley Beale has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent
01:11 and two counts of sexual touching without consent.
01:14 And this call has been played in the context of the complainant's evidence so it is still
01:18 quite early in this trial.
01:20 Right, and what's the jury heard from Mr Beale's lawyers so far?
01:26 Well last week we heard some opening addresses and we heard briefly from his Defence Counsel
01:31 Margaret Kenean SC.
01:32 She's told the jurors that in regards to the allegation of a sexual touch that the touching
01:38 was fleeting and even a fleeting touch on or near the complainant couldn't be regarded
01:43 as a criminal touch.
01:44 In relation to the allegations of the toilet cubicle, Ms Kenean said that everything that
01:52 happened was consensual and she said it was initiated by the complainant.
01:56 And Ms Kenean also raised this recorded telephone call last week.
02:00 She told the jury that at no time over a lengthy call did Mr Beale concede that at any time
02:06 he believed the complainant was not consenting.
02:09 So Ms Kenean has overall urged the jury to keep an open mind.
02:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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