Bail for man who allegedly posed as Uber driver to sexually assault young women
A man who allegedly posed as an Uber driver to prey on intoxicated young women outside Melbourne pubs and clubs will be released on bail after his mother offered a $1 million surety to secure his release.
Supreme Court Justice John Ross Champion granted 59-year-old Francesco de Luise bail with strict conditions on Thursday following two failed bids for bail.
Francesco de Luise allegedly waited outside pubs and clubs and preyed on intoxicated young women.
Champion said de Luise’s family would suffer financial hardship if he remained in custody. De Luise, who had been placed in protective custody at Ravenhall prison following threats from other inmates, was living with his wife and daughter in Airport West at the time.
The father-of-three was arrested in September and charged with 10 sexual assault offences and one count of rape involving three women aged between 21 and 35 over 18 months in 2021 and 2022.
Police say they have received at least two more complaints about a man, later confirmed to be de Luise, targeting intoxicated women outside licensed venues, with one complaint from 2005.
De Luise, who has denied sexually assaulting and raping the three women, has not been charged over the two additional complaints.
The former truck driver was denied bail at a hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in October after police told the court de Luise’s conduct had become “more brazen and blatant”.
Magistrate Daniel Muling had said the case against de Luise was strong and rejected claims he would face an inordinate amount of time on remand awaiting trial.
De Luise appealed the decision in the Supreme Court, where Champion ruled strict bail conditions, including a $1 million surety and nighttime curfew.
He is also prohibited from driving a vehicle, other than one for work at his brother’s trucking company, and must reside at his family’s Airport West home.
The court heard that in one of the alleged attacks, de Luise picked up a young woman whose partner had ordered an Uber outside the Public House in the early hours of September 3.
Police claim de Luise proceeded to grope the woman, telling her, “You don’t care, you don’t care, do you? You got in the car”, before stopping the vehicle and digitally raping her in the passenger seat.
The woman, who escaped after her boyfriend intercepted the vehicle, managed to audio record and film part of the alleged attack and provided the files to detectives.
In another incident, in January 2021, de Luise is alleged to have groped a woman he picked up outside Club Retro on Lonsdale Street before allowing her to leave the vehicle in East Brunswick.
De Luise is alleged to have fondled and masturbated in front of a third woman he picked up more than a year later, in June 2022, as she was leaving a music festival in Southbank.
Police had opposed bail on the basis de Luise posed an unacceptable risk to the community.
He is expected to return to court in March.
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