Benalla man jailed for raping woman during night out in Wangaratta

The victim of the incident says she has only just started to recover from the offending of five-plus years ago.

The woman, who was 18 at the time of the offence on February 12, 2017, told the Wangaratta County Court she had been on a "journey of pain and anguish for the last five years".

"Your actions had major hurtful consequences on my life," she said in her victim impact statement.

"I can only hope that you understand what you did was so very wrong."

The pair had previously dated and remained friends.

They had been with a group of people drinking at Benalla before the offence and decided to go to the Grand Central Hotel about 12.20am, then the Albion, and back to the Grand Central.

The offender and his stepbrother walked with the victim across Murphy Street, down a laneway, through a car park and stopped behind some shops.

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She was drunk, unable to stand by herself, and said things were spinning around her.

The offender and victim kissed and he asked her multiple times to have sex, asked her to have sex with his stepbrother, and offered her $100, and the woman repeatedly said "no".

The man asked for a threesome and she said no.

The court heard the man had sex with her despite her objections.

He was found guilty of two charges of rape following a nine-day trial.

Judge Greg Lyon said the man had repeatedly ignored the victim saying "no", and noted she had been vulnerable due to her intoxication.

He said the man had humiliated the victim by putting a $100 note in her bra.

The man's stepbrother was found not guilty.

The court heard there was insufficient evidence that man knew the victim wasn't consenting.

Judge Lyon said the victim had been "powerless" and noted the offender, now aged 24, had apologised following the incident.

He didn't tell his mum about the legal proceedings until after he was found guilty.

The 24-year-old was taken into custody after the verdict.

Judge Lyon said it was the man's first offence and that the legal matter had been hanging over his head for years.

He imposed a maximum jail term of three years and four months, with a non-parole period of one year and eight months.

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