A man will stand trial for the rape of two teenage sex workers, aged 15 and 16 years.
Theodoros Tsalkos, 59, is facing 27 charges from 33 years ago, which he denies. Charges include falsely imprisoning and raping the teens in Melbourne in 1987, however his lawyers dispute the DNA evidence used to charge him.
Mr Tsalkos fronted Magistrate Luisa Bazzani in Melbourne Magistrates Court, charged with allegedly pretending to be an undercover police officer and picking the girls up at St Kilda in a red Holdan Torana on 7 May in 1987 after telling them that he was arresting them for prostitution. He subjected them to sexual torture in Elwood and Balaclava. He allegedly raped one girl, told her he had AIDS and also forced the other to comply with his demands.
The girls initially denied being sex workers but changed their statements when they were interviewed by a former detective who described the girls as “street-wise”.
Mr Tsalkos was charged in 2020, however one complainant had died before he was charged after advances in DNA technology helped lead to the arrest. DNA from one of the girls was linked to another man. Mr Tsalkos’ lawyer Martin Kozlowski said that the DNA evidence cast doubt on the allegations and he was given permission to question the surviving complainant on how many men she had sex with before the alleged rapes.
The court previously heard that Mr Tsalkos worked as a brothel “sitter” at the time, in charge of security.
Mr Tsalkos is on bail and will appear in the County Court again on 16 February.