Vincenzo Mineo: Woman claims accused raped her at his West Perth apartment after she told him no

A woman who claims she was raped by Vincenzo Mineo – hours after he allegedly raped a different woman in a Scarborough toilet with his friend – has recounted the moment she says he violated her after telling him no. Taking the stand during the fourth week of the District Court trial, the young woman testified that she first had sex with the 39-year-old at his West Perth apartment after meeting him at El Grotto in Scarborough on March 14, 2021. But she told the court that during that encounter, Mr Mineo asked her if he could engage in another sexual act with her — which she refused. She said she had no interest in that, prompting him to respond with: “Well, you do tonight, and you’ll like it” before allegedly raping her. Mr Mineo denies the claim, as well as allegations he raped a different woman inside a toilet cubicle on the Scarborough Beach foreshore with Alberto Nicoletti after the pair met her at The Lookout that evening. The woman told the court she had been at the Indian Ocean Hotel with her friend — who has also accused Mr Nicoletti of violating her — for a gig before the pair decided to head to El Grotto. As soon as they got inside, the woman said Mr Nicoletti and Mr Mineo started talking to her friend, so she began talking to a security guard. “I turned around to the security guard, and she (her friend) was kissing Alberto,” the woman said. “I think after she kissed them both.” The court was told the four of them went outside to smoke, but a few minutes later, her friend and Mr Nicoletti had gone back in. She told the court when she asked Mr Mineo where they had gone, he told her they went “to have sex” in the toilet. She said she didn’t believe him, so they went to go find them. Her friend on Thursday testified that she was unable to consent that night because she was so drunk. Mr Nicoletti is accused of violating the friend the following morning at her home. In her testimony on Friday, the woman said when they arrived at the disabled toilet, she tried to open the door but couldn’t, so she went to the female bathroom because she needed to “pee”. She added that Mr Mineo followed, and the pair began kissing and touching inside the toilet. But she said she told him she would not have sex without a condom, so they left the venue and eventually went back to Mr Mineo’s apartment, where they had sex. However, it was during this encounter she claims Mr Mineo raped her after she had told him she did not want him to carry out an act. “I remember saying no before doing it, not while he was doing it,” she told the trial. “I’m pretty sure I yelped. I was conscious of not screaming. I know that I said ouch.” After it stopped, the woman said the pair continued having sex for a few more minutes before Mr Mineo and Mr Nicoletti video-called each other. She told the court she didn’t know who called who but that she could see Mr Nicoletti on Mr Mineo’s phone and her friend, who “looked unconscious”. “Her face was smooshed against his (Mr Nicoletti’s) arm,” she testified. “She was not responding or talking to me. They were in her bedroom”. She also testified the two men spoke in Italian, so she couldn’t understand what they were saying. After the call ended, the woman said she continued to lay on the bed and then left around 7am on March 15, adding she didn’t want to have sex again. She said she contacted her friend, discussing what had happened on their way to university that morning. The court was also shown a series of messages between the young women from that morning in which the woman asked her friend if it was true that she had sex with Mr Nicoletti in the toilet at El Grotto. Her friend replied she did, prompting the woman to respond: “OK, so he (Mr Mineo) wasn’t a liar?” The friend responded: “Nah, he wasn’t hahaha.” The trial will continue on Tuesday, and the woman will be cross-examined by Mr Mineo’s lawyer, Lisa Boston. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)