Perth ‘Tinder rapist’ claims he thought women were consenting

A jury has been told how a Perth man “mistakenly” believed the women he is accused of raping were consenting to have sex with him on the first day of a trial that will probe allegations of rape, threats, strangulation and assault by the former FIFO worker.

Michael McConnaughty, 30, denies all eight allegations, with his lawyer telling Perth District Court on Monday his client “mistakenly believed” the sex he had with two women on two separate occasions, four years apart, was consensual.

However, state prosecutors painted a very different picture of how events unfolded between the former FIFO worker and the two women – one aged 20 years old at the time, and the other 27.

Four of the allegations relate to a woman McConnaughty briefly dated after meeting on a dating app in 2019. She claims he raped her twice in her en suite bathroom, after which she ended the relationship.

A month later, the woman claims McConnaughty approached her as she was walking to her car and began abusing her.

He allegedly pressured her into giving him a lift home before he then attempted to entice her into his house. Following the interaction, the woman alleged McConnaughty threatened to “leak” intimate photos and videos of her.

One of the videos allegedly depicted McConnaughty tapping his penis on the woman’s forehead as she slept.

The woman didn’t make a complaint to police for another four years, until a second woman claimed McConnaughty raped her in 2023.

“He said he had a story to tell her but had to tell her in person,” prosecutors told the jury on Monday.

McConnaughty was at the woman’s home, lying with her on a chaise lounge before he allegedly pulled her to him and raped her. She claimed he then fell asleep before doing the same thing again a while later.

She also alleges that McConnaughty “held her throat” and did it with such force that she struggled to breathe.

She made a complaint to police after sharing what happened with a friend, and he was arrested before police examined his phone and further arrested him in relation to the 2019 incident.

On Monday, McConnaughty’s lawyer told the court, “consensual sex is rarely expressly asked, such as, ‘Would you have sex with me?’” instead stating that it was more so done “with the inference of both parties”.