This is Australian True Crime with Michelle Laurie.

Balmoral is a small farming town in western Victoria, the kind of place where everyone knows each other and local football sits at the heart of the community.

In 2016, a young woman we're calling Elise reported that she'd been sexually assaulted while attending a birthday party.

What followed was a case that would divide the town, with Elise and her family saying they

felt increasingly isolated, while many locals publicly supported the two men accused of the

attack, though two separate juries ultimately found the men guilty of rape.

The story is the focus of the ABC podcast,

Hometown Boys, hosted by journalists Andy Burns and Charlotte King.

They join us to talk about what they uncovered

while investigating the case and the impact it's had on the community.

This is Australian True Crime.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created,

the Wurundri, Woi Wurang people of the Koolan Nation.

And a warning, this episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of sexual violence.

All right, let's begin.

Tell us about what happened. Our victim is called Elise in the podcast.

She is in the podcast. This woman is speaking for herself in the podcast and telling her own story,

which is brilliant. This is a party in town, isn't it, a few years after high school. So by this

stage, all the players have left high school. Some are working.

Elise is at uni. And it's sort of a reunion at someone's 21st, right? You know, they've got music,

fire pits. It just looks like a really lovely time. And Elise, when she's talking about the,

you know, early part of the night, it's same thing. It's so lovely to catch up with everyone.

...