Source : Perth Now news
Disgraced entertainment manager Ralph Carr has spent up to 23 hours a day in his cell in the weeks since being found guilty of rape and believes the verdict has “destroyed” his reputation, a court has been told.
The 66-year-old well-known celebrity agent was convicted on July 28 on charges of rape and sexual assault following a two-week trial in Melbourne.
During the trial, jurors heard Carnovale-Carr sexually assaulted a woman, decades his junior, after a night spent drinking and using cocaine in March 2023.
Details of his three-week stint in the prison system were aired in the County Court of Victoria on Monday as Carnovale-Carr faced a pre-sentence hearing.
“For someone who maintains their innocence, it’s just a terrible, terrible situation,” defence barrister Dermot Dann KC said.
Citing a psychiatrist’s report, Mr Dann said Carnovale-Carr had been experiencing panic attacks three or four times a day, poor sleep, nightmares and spent 23 hours a day locked in his cell.
Immediately after going into custody, the court was told, he self-harmed because he’d found the experience of the verdict and incarceration “dizzying”.
Forensic psychiatrist Jacqueline Rakov said Carnovale-Carr posed a “clinically significant and dynamic” risk, with custody “likely to trigger a deteriorated mental state”.
The court was told Carnovale-Carr has previously been diagnosed with PTSD, major depressive disorder and an anxiety disorder, with the criminal case causing an “escalation” in these concerns.
In a meeting with Dr Rakov on August 12, the court was told Carnovale-Carr had expressed the belief his career and reputation had been “destroyed”.
He also said, “I just feel like I’m dying here” due to ongoing issues with his blood pressure and medication.
Mr Dann said his client had pinned his hopes on a successful legal effort to stay sentencing pending an appeal of the conviction.
“We would say he’s not been unduly pessimistic when he labels his career as being destroyed,” Mr Dann said.
“If that goal, that hope is removed, we would say the situation is particularly concerning, particularly dark.”
Carnovale-Carr’s identity was suppressed from media reporting for three years as the case progressed through the courts after a series of suppression orders made on mental health grounds.
The final order was lifted by Judge Frank Gucciardo days after he was found guilty by the jury.
The hearing continues.
