Cricket staffer alleges drink was spiked before assault

A man who claims a former Cricket Australia executive sexually assaulted him told a friend he believed his drink was spiked before the alleged incident.

The man says Timothy Joseph Whittaker, 37, masturbated him without his consent in the early hours of March 16, 2019, following a CA end-of-season function.

Whittaker denies the allegation and is contesting the sexual touching charge in Melbourne Magistrates Court. 

The court was told Whittaker and a group of other CA staffers went to his Abbotsford apartment after hours of drinking at the South Melbourne event. 

The man was asleep on Whittaker's couch when the rest of the guests left but he claims he woke up in Whittaker's bed with his pants off and the 37-year-old touching him.

A friend of the alleged victim told the court the man appeared "a bit off" when he had breakfast with him a few hours later.

The man disclosed the allegations, telling his friend he had been given shots of alcohol at the apartment and he believed his drink was spiked because he "blacked out" shortly after.

CA's former people and culture manager Raj Tapper said the alleged victim made a similar claim when he disclosed the incident to her on March 18.

Ms Tapper told the court the man said Whittaker had been plying him with drinks at the apartment, more so than any of the other guests.

Whittaker is also contesting a separate charge of sexual touching without consent that allegedly happened on January 8, 2016, in Abbotsford.

The court was told those allegations were raised in December 2021, when a second man disclosed an incident to then-CA people and culture manager Louise Lee.

Ms Lee told the court the man claimed Whittaker had inappropriately touched him in a hotel room after a night out drinking.

The man had felt groomed by Whittaker because the 37-year-old had helped him get a job at CA, Ms Lee said in her evidence.

He told her he maintained a professional relationship with Whittaker in the years after but he stopped attending social events for fear "other abuse" would happen.

The man was not a CA employee at the time of the alleged incident.

Whittaker resigned as CA's head of communications on March 15, 2019, to take up another position at the International Cricket Council in Dubai.

The hearing before Magistrate Tim Gattuso continues. 

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