A man charged with raping two young women as part of an alleged gang rape in Adelaide's CBD has been locked up, with a court being told he was already on bail at the time for other rape offences.
WARNING: Readers may find details in this story distressing.
The 20-year-old from Gilberton – who cannot be identified for legal reasons — has been charged with raping two women, aged 18 and 19.
Police have previously said seven people were involved in the rape between 11pm on Saturday and 12:30am on Sunday in a car park stairwell in Solomon Street, off Hindley Street.
During a bail application, the Adelaide Magistrates Court was told the 20-year-old Gilberton man was not known to either of the alleged victims.
Prosecutors opposed bail, telling the court the man was already on bail at the time for two other counts of rape.
"We have serious concerns that, if granted bail, he would interfere with the investigation," the police prosecutor told the court.
"He's also [been] pinged for a breach of bail."
The man's lawyer, Mary-Anne Goldsworthy, told the court her client contested the rape charges before the District Court, as well as his latest rape charges.
"His role, if any, will be one of a lesser extent," she told the court.
"It's quite clear that the case against him is not possibly as strong as the other co-accused.
"Those that have been named have been named by the victims in this matter. He is not one of those named as committing any offences against them, except that he seems to suggest that he was there at the time.
"So where [the alleged victims] reside or where they are is not something that he would be able to find and interfere."
However, the prosecutor told the court that CCTV footage showed the 20-year-old enter and leave the alleged crime scene.
"He does not deny being there at the time," the prosecutor said.
"Even if he had a lesser part in it, he still was there and seemed to have no issue with doing so.
"Any form of bail is highly inappropriate."
Magistrate Melanie Burton refused bail, due to the "gravity of the alleged offending".
"And the similarity broadly to pending matters before the District Court, the need to protect the alleged victims, the need to protect the integrity of the investigation, the risk associated with granting bail … is too great," the magistrate said.
The court was told police were still working on identification checks and forensic evidence, including clothing analysis.
They are also still waiting on affidavits from the two alleged victims.
The 20-year-old will be remanded in custody to face court again in March.
Six people charged so far
The other three men and two boys who appeared in court earlier this week also had their names suppressed.
The arrests so far include 17-year-old boys from Newton and Blair Athol, a 20-year-old of no fixed address, a 23-year-old man from Kensington and a 21-year-old man from Clearview.
While most were charged with rape, the Newton boy was charged with inducing a witness to withhold evidence.
The 21-year-old was also charged with inducing a witness.
Police say a number of other people were involved in the incident and are encouraging them to come forward.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court was told on Wednesday that seven males allegedly forced the women — aged 18 and 19 — into the stairwell of the Plaza Car Park, where they were then repeatedly raped for about 30 minutes.
Police prosecutor Brevet Sergeant Amanda Sparnan told the court one woman was forced to perform numerous sex acts with three men.
She said that the other woman was able to see down the stairwell and witnessed her friend allegedly being raped by others in the group.
The court was told one woman managed to escape but decided to go back to rescue her friend but was allegedly raped again.
