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Entertainment industry and AFL figure Ralph Carr has “a hurdle to jump” if he is going to convince a Victorian judge that he should be granted a stay on his sentence for raping a former staffer, a Melbourne court has heard.

Carr, 66, appeared in the Victorian county court on Tuesday, where judge Frank Gucciardo is hearing submissions about the sentence he should receive.

Carr was last month convicted of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault after a trial. He had pleaded not guilty to the offences, which were committed against his former employee in March 2023.

This week, the court is also hearing an application from Carr for his sentence to be stayed, pending the outcome of an appeal against his conviction.

Carr’s lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, told the court on Tuesday that the case represented “the most obvious miscarriage of justice I’ve ever seen”.

He said this was because of the evidence given by the victim, which occurred in a closed court.

“Anyone who saw or heard the complainant give evidence in this trial should be very concerned, very uncomfortable with the verdict in these proceedings,” Dann said.

He told the court that “only a limited group of people…did see and hear that evidence” – which he said did not include the media and “keyboard warriors” who have “engaged in this unseemly pile on”.

Nobody who watched the victim give evidence should be comfortable with the verdict, Dann said.

“Anyone who is has lost sight of what justice is.”

But Gucciardo rebuked Dann, saying that he was not sure it was appropriate for him to express a view about the matter being a miscarriage of justice, and to claim that those who thought otherwise had “lost sight” of what justice was.

“I haven’t quite come to any point of conclusion, but I think it’s overstating the point to say that anyone who is comfortable with the outcome has lost sight of justice,” Gucciardo said.

“That’s not an appropriate submission to make to the court.”

Dann quoted submissions from the prosecution regarding the application, which he said outlined that if it was granted it would be the first time in Victorian history that such an application had been allowed in relation to a conviction for sexual offending.

He said that in a previous case in which a stay on sentence was granted, a judge had found he was “troubled” by the verdict.

“Well I’m not really troubled,” Gucciardo said.

“You better persuade me.”

The judge added that Dann had a “hurdle to jump” in order for the application to be granted.

“My view of it is that we had a very conscientious jury, who listened to the evidence, who listened to your very complete … cross examination of the complainant,” Gucciardo said.

“The whole process seemed to me exactly as it should have been.”

Dann said the application was also based on concerns with 16 aspects of the evidence presented at the trial.

He also said Carr’s mental health should be a factor in the stay application, given this would worsen should he remain in custody pending an appeal.

The prosecutor, Matthew Fisher, also denounced Dann’s comments during his stay application.

“We are very concerned on this side of the bar table, not just in the substance of the submissions that Mr Dann has made, but the way in which he has made them,” Fisher said.

“It is entirely inappropriate.”

He agreed with Gucciardo that Dann’s cross-examination of the victim had been extensive, and also agreed with Dann that she was the most important witness.

But he said the jury appeared to have no difficulty with her evidence, given they had no questions about it.

Fisher, who will complete his submissions regarding Carr’s sentence on Wednesday, said the prosecution agreed he should be sentenced as a person of good character with no criminal history, but noted that “nobody submits bad character references”.

Fisher is expected to submit that the age difference between Carr and the victim, who was in her 20s at the time of the rape, and the power imbalance between the two, should be considered in sentencing.

Carr, an entertainment and sports manager, represented some of the biggest names in Australian pop music, including Vanessa Amorosi, Kate Ceberano and Tina Arena, who he married while she was signed to him. Carr and Arena divorced in 1999.

At its peak, his company Ralph Carr Management had a record label, a publishing company and a promotions/touring arm, with a client list including entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins and Neighbours star and singer Bonnie Anderson.

In recent years Carr lost a number of his high-profile clients, but continued to manage a small number of AFL players, most notably former star Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin, who cut all ties with him after the verdict.

Gucciardo said on Tuesday that he expected the likely scenario he would follow would be in sentencing Carr and then ruling on his stay application. Those decisions are expected next week.

The hearing continues.

• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at Full Stop Australia (1800 385 578). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html