A man who was jailed for raping a woman during a Valentine's Day massage has appealed his conviction, claiming key evidence was not presented at his trial.
Yevgeny Zhenya Borodinov, 39, was jailed for two-and-a-half-years with a 15-month non-parole period in May 2023 after being found guilty by a jury of one charge of sexual assault and one of rape.
Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus said at sentencing that Borodinov had shown no remorse for his offending, which took place during what was supposed to be a present for the victim in February 2021.
"This was brazen offending in the victim's own bedroom in her own home with her partner outside the room and her children in the house," he said.
Borodinov appeared before the Court of Appeal in Brisbane on Tuesday and was granted an application to dismiss his legal aid counsel and represent himself.
Through a videolink from prison, Borodinov said he no longer wished to proceed with a part of his appeal that would, if successful, lead to a retrial.
"I came here seeking to quash and overturn a conviction ... (a retrial) appears to be a distraction from what I'm focusing on," he said.
Borodinov said he sought leave to appeal based on a statement of facts for the trial being drafted by court order without his knowledge.
"The police statement that was made by the second witness in April 2021, I wasn't aware of that until 2022 but (prosecutors) were using it without my knowledge," he said.
Borodinov said he had statutory declarations that exposed discrepancies in that witness statement but he was never given the chance to use them.
"I should never have gone to trial," he said.
Counsel for the prosecution said one of Borodinov's grounds for appeal would not overturn his conviction if he was successful and would be limited to a retrial.
Borodinov said he was also seeking leave to appeal on the basis that his conviction resulted from an unsupported jury verdict.
Justice John Bond ordered a transcript of the hearing and said he and his two fellow justices would consider Borodinov's application for leave to appeal.
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