Chris Laws, an executive in the advertising industry, is facing sexual assault charges in the NSW Local Court.
The allegations include sexual intercourse without consent and assault with act of indecency.
They relate to a Sydney social event in 2018. Police have been interviewing a number of industry figures who attended.
Laws is on bail. The charges relate to his time as managing director at agency Born & Raised in Sydney’s Crows Nest.
He was later managing director of Enigma but was stood down in March 2022, following allegations made by a former Born & Raised employee, and no longer works at the independent creative agency. He was also managing director of Moon and had worked at STW, which later became part of global holding group, WPP.
A second person, Benjamin George Foote, is also charged with sexual intercourse without consent.
Foote is a former CEO of the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), former CEO of job search platform CareerOne and former managing director of PPS, a fully owned subsidiary of Singtel Optus.
The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is the same in both cases.
A committal hearing is due to resume next month following a request from police for more time to prepare.
Evidence is still being put together, including a transcript of an emergency 000 call, statements from ambulance officers, transcripts from body worn video and from phone intercepts.
Defence lawyer Lisa Munro told the court the Police have had since November 2021 to compile evidence.
She said they appear now to want to “patch up” deficiencies in their investigation
Her clients had this matter “hanging over their heads” for considerable time, she said.
Munro said the case wasn’t a complex one.
Magistrate Gregory Moore adjourned the hearing.
A civil action in the Federal Court, alleging breaches of the Fair Work Act, has been stayed awaiting the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
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