Man denies sexually assaulting drunk teen in mid-1990s
· RNZWarning: This story contains details of an alleged sexual assault.
A man accused of taking a teenager 17 years his junior to a bach and then sexually violating him while the young man was intoxicated has pleaded not guilty.
The accused, who has name suppression, is facing one charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection between 1994 and 1995.
In her opening address at Christchurch District Court, Crown prosecutor Penny Brown said the complainant, who was 18 or 19 years old, claimed the pair drank and smoked cannabis at the Lake Coleridge bach, with the complainant becoming so intoxicated he thought he might have been drugged.
He said the accused, who was 17 years older than him, helped him to bed and to remove his clothes other than his boxer shorts and a T-shirt.
The complainant said he woke and found himself face down with his hips propped up over cushions, and the accused sexually violating him.
"The defendant said he felt like a child, like a child who was supposed to be seen and not heard," Brown said, "and while it registered to him that it should not be happening, he could not muster any type of fright or flight response. He just froze and let it happen."
The complainant did not tell anyone until around 2000 when he revealed what had happened to his ex-wife.
Brown said the complainant did not report it to the police until 2020, by which time she said his life had derailed and he was due to be sentenced for serious offending.
He told the person preparing his pre-sentence report he had been sexually abused.
In 2021, prison staff got in touch with police to say the complainant wanted to speak to someone about the allegations, and a video interview was made.
On Monday afternoon the video interview will be played to the jury. In the video, the man said he knew the accused was gay, but had no issue with that.
On the night of the alleged abuse the accused put on gay pornography, but the younger man asked him to turn it off. The older man said he should watch it for a bit and he might like it.
The complaint left the room, and when he returned the video was off.
He said on the night the accused made all of the drinks in another room, and at the time he just thought the man was being a good host.
"Looking back, why wasn't the Coke and [stuff] sitting there with us?"
He said he had been drunk and smoked marijuana before, but on this occasion he could not get his body to move properly and his feet were dragging.
The complainant said the next day the accused acted like nothing had happened.
In the defence's opening address, lawyer Ryan Jones said the accused accepted he took the young man to the bach but said no sexual activity and no sexual abuse occurred.
He said the case was not straightforward, and it should be remembered that the defendant was presumed innocent until proved otherwise.
The trial continues.
Where to get help
- Road Forward Trust: 0800 118 104
- Better Blokes Auckland: 0800 448 484
- The Canterbury Men's Centre: 03 365 9000
- The Male Room, Nelson 03 548 0403
- Male Support Services Waikato: 0800 677 289
- Male Survivors Aotearoa
- Safe to Talk sexual harm helpline: 0800 044 334, Free text 4334
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