Dalibor 'Daki' Bubanja's rape and assault charges withdrawn in court on Wednesday more than six months after he was arrested.
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The allegations were made by an Illawarra woman last year.
On September 30, the Shell Cove man was charged with 12 offences including two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault, destroying or damaging property, intentionally choking a person without consent, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, and intimidation or stalking.
The charges were formally withdrawn in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Bubanja, 34, also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against a different woman that allegedly occurred in September 2020.
In a statement provide to the Mercury, Bubanja's defence lawyer Abbas Soukie said his client was pleased with the charges being dropped.
"The withdrawal of the charges comes after representations were submitted on behalf of Mr Bubanja, under my hand, outlining the weaknesses in the Crown case," Mr Soukie said.
"In withdrawing the charges, the prosecution has clearly accepted my argument that the evidence against Mr Bubanja was deficient.
"Mr Bubanja is pleased with the fact that he has now cleared his name and looks forward to his release from custody."
In February, Bubanja had his bid for freedom denied during a Supreme Court bail application.
During the application, Bubanja's lawyer Arjun Chhabra told the court the prosecution case against his client did not appear to be strong and asked the Judge to question the woman's credibility given she provided two different versions of events to police in as many days.
The court heard the woman reported the alleged assault to police on September 30 but then recanted her statement less than 24 hours later.
The Judge refused to grant Bubanja bail due to the seriousness of the allegations, his criminal history and without hearing evidence from the woman directly he could not assess the credibility of her recanting her allegations.
At the time of his arrest, Bubanja was on parole for commercial drug supply charge and has been in custody since being charged.
Bubanja's case will return to court next month.
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