We want to rationalise the good men.

We want to be able to understand our position in the world in relation to that.

And that's something that Hometown Boys really touches on is this idea that it couldn't

be our boys because that's a reflection on us.

And so we have to rationalise this.

And how do we do that?

We other the victim.

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 Warang people of the Kulin Nation.

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

I guess the danger is to look at this story and think, oh, that's just a really weird town.

...