Man accused of rapes
A YOUNG woman sobbed and begged a police phone operator “don’t hang up please” as she waited for help after she was allegedly brutally raped by a top level Cairns soccer player and his mate.
The 32-year-old woman’s harrowing 000 phone call was played to the Cairns District Court on the opening day of the trial for Jacob Lahai, 27, a long-time FNQ Premier League player with many local clubs.
She sobbed into the payphone, telling the 000 operator, “I need help please”, “I want to go home” and “I feel so alone” during the 15-minute call before police arrived.
The court heard Mr Lahai, who has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape, got inside a taxi outside Gilligan’s which she was already in, but was being driven by his 31-yearold friend on May 5, 2016.
Despite requesting to be taken to a Woree address, the court heard the pair allegedly drove her to the taxi depot and dragged her into a second car which they drove to an unknown location at Parramatta Park and took turns sexually assaulting her.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Williams told the court she was allegedly pinned to the bonnet of the vehicle by both men during the attack, before being left on the side of the road wearing only her bra. She had no idea where she was,” Ms Williams said.
She told the court the woman found a nearby payphone and initially called her ex-partner who urged her to call police.
Det Sen-Constable Wendy McRae told the court they found her standing beside the phone booth.
“On my first arrival I could see she was visibly distressed,” she said. She told the court the woman was “crying and sobbing” and her clothes were “disarranged”.