The former mayor of a regional city "didn't take no for an answer", a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Former Dubbo mayor Ben Shields, 43, is on trial accused of having non-consensual sexual intercourse with an 18-year-old man in 2003 when he was 21 and on council. He has pleaded not guilty.
Giving evidence before the jury at the District Court in Parramatta on Wednesday, April 10, the complainant - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said the first time he ever told someone about what happened was in 2005 or 2006.
"The first person I told about it was a friend that I met in Armidale who moved to Canberra around the same time I moved there," he told the court.
"[I said to him] the youngest member of Dubbo City Council didn't take no for an answer."
The man wouldn't talk about the allegations again for over a decade.
In November 2021, his aunt shared a video with him on Facebook made by then-mayor of Dubbo Stephen Lawrence, detailing a number of claims about Shields.
She asked him if he had any dealings with Shields. He said he had.
"I've never told anyone, but he did something to me when I was 18," he told his aunt, in a transcript of the exchange shown to the court.
"Threatened you?," she asked.
"No, sexual assault," he said.
Asked why he had not told anyone in his family about what happened, he told his aunt he was afraid of getting in trouble as he didn't tell them he was going to Dubbo that night.
He said he "probably should have done something about it years ago" but was afraid no-one would believe him and it would become a "he said, she said thing".
'I said to him I wanted him to stop'
According to the man, who used to live in Orange, he caught a train to Dubbo for a New Year's Eve barbecue with Shields and his then partner in 2002.
He was invited to come to Dubbo by Shields' partner, who he had briefly dated in the past.
He said when he got to Dubbo Shields and his partner picked him up from the train station and the three headed to Orana Mall to get lunch before going back to Shields' house.
The men then went to Shields' long-time friend Michael Catelotti's home for the New Year's Eve celebration.
Shields and the two men left the barbecue and went to the Dubbo RSL Club and the Amaroo Hotel and drank heavily before they caught a taxi back to Shields' home after midnight.
The complainant told the court he was in the room of the house he was staying in when he was approached by Shields' partner who asked him to come to their bedroom and hang out.
When he got to the bedroom Shields was there, and the three began to kiss.
"It developed further from there... Ben pushed me down by my head towards his crotch... he pushed me towards his penis," he said.
The complainant said he performed oral sex on Shields and then had intercourse with Shields' partner. When Shields' partner finished, he laid on the bed beside the complainant and Shields.
"Ben then started to have sex with me," the complainant told the court.
"I told him it started to hurt and I didn't want to continue... He said it would get better... I said to him I wanted him to stop and I didn't want him to continue."
He alleges despite asking him to stop, Shields continued the act until he ejaculated.
The complainant said he then fell asleep in the bed as he "was tired and had a bit to drink". He said he woke up about midday, later that day, and was taken back to the train station.
He said he remained in contact with Shields' partner for a few weeks after that night and he asked him to go with him and Shields to Mardi Gras.
"I said I didn't want to... [Shields' partner] said Ben was annoyed I wouldn't go with them," he said.
'Would an apology or a settlement help?'
After the conversation with his aunt, the complainant decided to reach out to Mr Lawrence.
The pair discussed the allegations and Mr Lawrence urged the complainant to contact Dubbo police officer Danny Sullivan.
The complainant did and an investigation began.
Around the same time, in November 2021, the complainant also reached out to Shields' then partner on Facebook messenger and spoke about the situation.
"It was like he didn't take no for an answer, I should have stood up to him back then but it was like he was controlling me," the man told the complainant in transcripts shown to the court.
As part of the investigation, the complainant attended Queanbeyan police station where a phone call between him and Shields was recorded.
In the recording, played for the court, the complainant told Shields he had watched Mr Lawrence's video.
"It brought back memories of the night I had with you and [your partner] and how I was uncomfortable afterwards," he said.
"I didn't know you were uncomfortable," Shields replied.
The complainant told Shields he felt he was too drunk to consent to what happened that evening. Shields said that he was also drunk that night and asked him what he planned to do.
"I don't know, I'm still thinking about it... it's hard to drag up memories from a long time ago," the man said.
"Can you not do this? This'll just absolutely destroy me... I am too sick for this," Shields said.
"Would an apology or a settlement or anything like that help?"
Shields denies any wrongdoing and maintains everything that happened between him and the complainant was consensual. He disputes the complainant's account of the visit.
His defence counsel Margaret Cunneen said she believed there was a "motive of a political nature" for the complainant coming forward against Shields.
The trial will continue before the District Court in Parramatta on Thursday, April 11.