Crown opens in case of Wellington musician accused of rapes

The Crown has opened its case in the Wellington trial of a 25-year-old man accused of multiple sexual offences.

Crown lawyer Kate Feltham said the issue of sexual consent will be a significant factor for the jury to consider in the seven-day trial.

The man faces eight charges including the rape of four women.

Allegations were posted on social media about a group of male Wellington musicians in October 2020, sparking a police investigation.

Police announced a 23-year-old man was arrested in December that year.

“The Crown case is that on each occasion the defendant has taken advantage of the complainant who at the time was either asleep or affected by alcohol … by initiating and then continuing sexual activity with them and they were not in a position to consent. He was well aware of that and continued,” Feltham said.

She said the alleged incidents involving six women took place at properties after nights out in town or parties, between 2017 and 2020.

The first complainant outlined in a video shown to the jury how the accused attended a party she threw with a friend for their birthdays.

She didn’t know the accused but he attended the party with a friend, the court heard.

Some people came back to the complainant’s house to sleep at hers after her mum had already picked her up from the party because she was drunk.

This included the defendant, who was meant to be sleeping in the lounge, but entered the complainant’s bedroom and allegedly raped her while she was passed out in her bed.

The complainant said it was painful and the accused was violent during the act, later adding he shoved her neck into the pillow.

The next day, she says the accused messaged her to thank her for the night.

She messaged him after the incident, saw him at house parties through mutual friends and felt that she wanted to prove to herself he was an “ok person” by continuing to communicate with him.

The woman said she blamed herself for being “too drunk.”

“It made me hate myself…”

After another night out where the accused didn’t talk to the complainant, she said he followed her to where she was staying, not talking to her on the walk home, and they had sex at the property.

“It was also really violent.”

She ended up blocking him on social media and stopping all contact, she said.

All of the six women will give evidence in the trial, which is set down for seven days.

The Crown will call on 19 witnesses in total.

Defence lawyer Val Nisbet agreed in his opening address that consent will be an important issue in the trial.

“Did the young women consent to the sexual activity?” he said.

Nisbet said that is the question for the four rape and two unlawful sexual connection charges, but for the two indecent assault charges, the accused denies anything occurred between himself and the complainants.

“If anything happened to them, it wasn’t he who carried out those acts,” he said.

The 25-year-old will give evidence in the trial.

The lawyer warned the jury that the defendant cannot be considered guilty just because he has been charged.

He said the consequences of a guilty verdict for the defendant’s life are serious.

“You have to be sure, you have to be firmly convinced the Crown have got it right before you find someone guilty.”

Nisbet said this isn’t a trial about lifestyle choices, but the alleging of intended criminal acts.

“They all went out, they all party up, they drink, sometimes too much, they may use drugs, sometimes too much but it’s a life that all participants make a choice to participate in…”

Nisbet told the jury to keep an open mind throughout the trial.

Sexual violation carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, while indecent assault carries seven years.