Accused denies sex allegation

A MAN has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a woman while she was asleep at a Cape Tribulation home.

The trial against Gavin Norman Turner began yesterday in the Cairns District Court.

He has pleaded not guilty to digital rape and sexual assault against the woman in late 2016.

The court was told that the woman had woken to find Mr Turner in bed next to her, sexually assaulting her.

Crown prosecutor Melanie Franklin said the woman left the room and went to sleep in the lounge and allegedly woke to Mr Turner trying to kiss her. She left the room. Mr Turner and the woman, who had both been drinking at the same place earlier in the night, did not know each other well.

The court was told she had been staying with a friend, who did know Mr Turner, and that the friend had woken to find the defendant in her front yard and allowed him to stay in her lounge room.

“The law considers more than just intercourse without consent as rape,” Ms Franklin said.

The trial under Judge Tracy Fantin continues today.