An almost naked man allegedly armed himself with a baseball bat to rob and injure a sex worker in a Bacchus Marsh street.
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Peter Momcilovic, 35, fronted the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Wednesday for a committal hearing into the alleged incident in the early hours of June 13, 2017.
Speaking via videolink, the victim told the court Momcilovic robbed her of $300 cash while he waved a baseball bat in her face and struck her on the cheek with the bat in a Bacchus Marsh street.
She told the court she and her driver arrived at Momcilovic’s Bacchus Marsh house about 2.45am after her escort agency received a booking.
The woman said after 50 minutes inside Momcilovic’s house she asked him if he wanted more time, giving him think about it while she went to the bathroom.
But when she emerged he was upset and aggressive, she said.
The court was told the woman texted her driver three times asking him to start knocking on the front door if she did not come outside in 20 minutes, to “come now” and “he’s aggressive”.
She told the court after she walked out of the bathroom Momcilovic was blocking the doorway but she got past him and opened the front door to leave, feeling afraid.
“I was giving him money to stop shaking the bat in front of my face,” the woman said.
“I ran down the stairs and started to reach the car door. He was right behind me and he swung the bat.
“As I was getting in the door I turned to the left and I felt something hit my cheek and I believe that’s when he struck me with the bat.”
Defence barrister Christopher Dane QC put to the woman she was not struck with the baseball bat because she did not receive a fracture and did not require medical treatment.
He suggested the sex worker did not see anyone hit her.
But the woman maintained during her evidence she was struck by the baseball bat, describing it as a grazing blow as she got inside the vehicle.
The sex worker’s driver told the court he saw a man running outside wearing nothing but a sleeveless black jacket holding a baseball bat.
“He hit me on the inside of the left arm and I fell to my knees. I said, ‘what are you doing?’ and he turned around and smacked her. He swung and hit her one-handed, hit her with his fist,” the man said.
“He was going on about he had not finished with her, he wanted his money.”
The woman handed over $200 and a further $100 after Momcilovic allegedly demanded more.
The man said Momcilovic told him and the woman the $300 was not enough before he kicked the vehicle’s number plate.
Magistrate Gregory Robinson committed Momcilovic to stand trial in the County Court at Ballarat, saying there was sufficient evidence for a conviction. A direction’s hearing will be held on March 1 in Melbourne.
Momcilovic pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including armed robbery, theft, intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury, assault with a weapon and criminal damage.
He is on trial bail.