21-05-2025
Canberra man found not guilty of raping woman he met via dating app Bumble
A Canberra man accused of sexually assaulting a woman on a Bumble date has been found not guilty by an ACT Supreme Court jury.
Hakan Eren, aged in his mid thirties, was charged with seven offences including rape, and acts of indecency.
The jury found him not guilty on each charge.
The incident was alleged to have happened in the woman's car at Lennox Gardens in Yarralumla after the pair met for a drink at the Kingston Hotel in September 2022.
The woman told the court she did consent to some activities, but when she asked to stop he continued, sexually assaulting her several times.
Mr Eren maintained there was no sex, only kissing, and that he stopped when the woman asked him to.
The court heard after the incident the woman said she had pulled on her clothes and driven Mr Eren to a bus stop in the city before calling a friend for help.
The prosecution urged the jury to believe the woman's account saying she had been honest, that she had consented to some acts, but had set a boundary at the outset.
The prosecution told the court the woman had remarked she felt "really disgusting…really dirty" after the incident, which indicated "the real life and palpable reactions from a woman who had been sexually assaulted".
Prosecutors told the jury in light of the alleged victim's account Mr Eren had lied to police, suggesting a consciousness of guilt.
But his lawyer, James Sabharwal, told the jury he was genuinely confused when police turned up to his workplace where he was first interviewed, and took a long while to understand why they were there.
"We kiss … we do not have sex," Mr Eren said to police.
He also denied removing his pants in the car, with Mr Sabharwal telling the jury "his pants never came off him".
The victim said he had removed his pants before the assaults.
The prosecution also raised evidence about DNA found inside the woman which corresponded with Mr Eren.
Mr Sabharwal urged the jury not to be "seduced" by the evidence, suggesting there was no indication about where the material came from, when the pair had engaged in some sexual activity by consent.
During the trial two other women who had met Mr Eren online and dated him gave character evidence to support him.
Mr Sabharwal told the jury "he may have a different approach to dating than you" and that he may be "a bit of a man about town" but he urged the jury not to judge him for that.
