The study found that women’s tights disintegrated after being splashed

As the trial of a man charged with seven counts of sexual assault began in Victoria on Monday, women took to the stand to describe how they felt something splashed on them as they walked into the city center and noticed their tights became they fall apart.

Two women and a teenager testified Monday morning at the trial of Sean James O’Reilly, who pleaded not guilty to seven counts of sexual assault in connection with events that occurred between November 17, 2022 and December 29, 2022.

Crown prosecutor Mark Feldthusen said in opening remarks that the court would hear from seven women who had warm liquid sprayed on their legs in six separate incidents in central Victoria. The fluid caused their stockings to disintegrate, exposing some of the skin underneath, he said.

Some women said they experienced a burning or itching sensation that quickly went away and did not cause any lasting damage, Feldthusen added.

Feldthusen said the focus of the trial is to prove O’Reilly was responsible for the incidents and establish that the assaults were sexual in nature.

The Crown plans to call as witnesses seven women, whose identities are protected by a publication ban, and three officers who investigated the incidents.

The first woman to give evidence described that she was walking south on Douglas Street near View Street after leaving work on November 17, 2022, when she felt a spray on the back of her legs and a “severe tingling” sensation.

“It felt like I had been sprayed by a spray bottle or a spray gun, and the wet droplets were hitting the back of my legs,” she said.

The woman testified that when she touched the back of her legs to check if they were moist, her hands were covered with a sticky, black residue.

She realized that her tights were falling apart. Small holes appeared in the tights, the material became more and more transparent, and her legs were black with residue, she added.

The tingling and burning sensation intensified and she couldn’t wash it off her legs with paper towels and water, so she ran to her partner’s apartment to take a shower.

She testified that once she scrubbed the residue off her legs, the burning sensation stopped.

The teenager also testified about a similar experience that occurred on November 23, 2022. She said she felt a splash and didn’t know what it was. Her legs began to tingle and her tights began to fall apart.

She was shocked and called a friend shortly afterwards to talk about the incident. The friend told her mother, who contacted the girl’s father. When she returned home, her father called the police.

Those who testified Monday morning described being unsure what happened to them.

During questioning, the first woman stated that she was initially unsure whether the incident was serious enough to report it to the police.

“I felt like maybe I didn’t have enough information to make that happen. … I wasn’t sure if someone had sprayed me or not,” she said.

She said she spoke to police after seeing a news report about similar incidents downtown. Realizing that it seemed to be a recurring incident, she decided it was worth reporting, she added.

No evidence was presented Monday about what fluid was involved.

The trial continues on Tuesday.

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