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A former Dancing With the Stars contestant will soon find out whether he will be jailed after a court rejected his appeal over his conviction for sexually touching a woman during a drunken dance session and climbing into her bed naked.
Trenton Shipley, 50, sat quietly in Sydney’s Downing Center District Court on Thursday afternoon as a judge dismissed his appeal against his conviction on three counts of sexually touching a woman at inside an Annandale dance unit and studio in 2021.
Judge Graham Turnbull said while there were inconsistencies in the account of the female victim – who cannot be named or identified – he found there was other evidence to support it.
A judge has rejected an appeal in the case against former Dancing With the Stars contestant Trenton Shipley (pictured right) after he was found guilty of sexually touching a woman without her consent.
Shipley, best known for his appearance on the third season of Dancing With the Stars, was sentenced last year to up to a year in prison after being found guilty by Magistrate Julia Virgo.
He was immediately released on bail while he appealed.
But this attempt to overturn his conviction was rejected on Thursday by Justice Graham Turnbull.
However, in another twist in the story, Shipley was not immediately taken into custody at the Downing Center court complex, as his appeal against his conviction has not yet been heard.
That appeal over the severity of his sentence will now be heard in May, although Justice Turnbull noted he had yet to see any expressions of contrition or remorse from Shipley.
His convictions relate to a series of incidents while Shipley was dancing with the woman and teaching at a dance studio in Annandale, which was owned by a mutual friend.
After drinking and dancing, the two had to sleep in separate beds in an apartment attached to the studio.
Shipley (pictured right) was convicted of the offense last year and sentenced to up to a year in prison.
The court heard that during the evening Shipley drank from an open bottle of vodka and told the woman “you look absolutely stunning”.
The most serious offense involved an incident in which Shipley, early in the morning, climbed into the woman’s bed while naked.
The woman told the trial in the local court that he touched her vagina and breasts over her clothes.
The woman told the court at the time that as Shipley climbed on top of her, he told her he loved her and should marry her, and said: “That’s how it is walk.”
Justice Turnbull noted there were inconsistencies in her evidence, including the “disturbing” conclusion that she sent two Snapchat messages to a friend as he climbed into bed.
The woman made no mention of the Snapchat message or the photos she took, but it came to light when another witness gave evidence about it at trial, the court heard.
The court heard she wrote on one of the messages: “Oh my God he threw himself at me naked in my bed.”
The woman told the court Shipley (pictured) climbed on top of her naked and touched her vagina and breasts over her clothes.
Since Snapchat messages are automatically deleted, there was no evidence of what was in the images or attached captions.
However, Justice Turnbull accepted other aspects of her evidence, including contemporaneous notes and complaints she made.
Mr Shipley’s defense acknowledged he entered the room naked, but argued he did not have enough time to commit the acts.
Judge Turnbull also dismissed the appeal against his conviction on the other two charges; kissing and groping the woman during a dance and touching her thigh in the kitchen.
Shipley will return to court on May 3 when his legal team will attempt to reduce his sentence to a non-custodial order.
He will remain free on bail.