Queensland police officer Anthony John Clowes pleads not guilty to raping colleague after Christmas party

When a Queensland police detective woke to a colleague raping her after a Christmas party nearly 25 years ago, she screamed before jumping out of bed, a court has been told.

But officer Anthony John Clowes pleaded not guilty to one count of rape at the start of a District Court trial in Brisbane on Monday.

Clowes and the woman, both detectives at Gladstone, had been to a Christmas party the night of the alleged rape in 1999, prosecutor Sarah McFarland told the jury in her opening.

He and another male officer, who both had a platonic relationship with the woman, were invited to sleep at her house as it was two minutes from the party venue.

The men were in the lounge room while the woman went to sleep in her bedroom with the door closed, McFarland said.

The woman was expected to tell jurors she woke to the bed moving, a hand across her chest and Clowes behind her, the court was told.

“She will tell you the pain she felt as his penis thrust in and out,” McFarland said.

“She screamed ‘f***’ and jumped out of the bed.”

She showered before the trio left, heading to the police station and then going their separate ways, the court was told.

McFarland said the woman would tell jurors she was in shock, didn’t know what to do and decided to drive to Brisbane.

The woman would tell the court she was beside herself on the journey, vomited multiple times and partly disclosed what happened to a female officer she called.

In Brisbane she spoke to now Chief Superintendent Ray Rohweder, who is expected to testify during the trial.

The woman would tell the jury of the impact the alleged incident had, McFarland said.

“She will give evidence as to why she did not report this and then why she did ... in 2021.”

Clowes’ barrister Saul Holt said a pretext call the woman made to Clowes, now a police inspector, in October 2021 was important evidence that resulted in a statement of innocence, instead of a confession.

“It will allow you to conclude that there was a drunken moment, short episode of sexual contact between the two of them on the night of a police Christmas party.”

Jurors would be able to conclude there was no sexual intercourse, she was not asleep, what occurred was consensual and it ended before anything significant happened, Holt said.

Asking why the woman would wrongly claim she was raped after more than two decades, Holt said jurors would have a clear sense of her significant alcohol abuse issues and mental health struggles.

Holt said the woman at the time of the incident alleged “something like sexual harassment or sexually inappropriate behaviour” which sparked a police mediation process that was not available for an allegation of criminal offending.

Few records are available from that time and witnesses would say they could not remember events, he added.

“It’s a mish mash of inconsistent things she said to other people over the course of the last 24 years.”

Regarding the “out-of-the-blue” pretext call, Holt said jurors would hear Clowes was stunned when the woman claimed she woke to him having sex from behind.

“You’ll immediately hear him say, ‘no, that’s not what happened’ and importantly, ‘that’s not what you’ve ever said’.”

The trial before Judge John Allen is set down for five days.