Prosecutor urges jury to reject idea of ‘phantom’ rapist in city parkade

Jurors should reject the claim of a man accused of rape that a “phantom” man sexually attacked a homeless prostitute after he had paid sex with her, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

But the lawyer for Andy Dick Ntunaguza countered that his client’s version of events made sense.

Defence counsel Dale Fedorchuk said Ntunaguza had sex with the complainant on Dec. 20, 2015, but he was not the one who brutally raped her in a downtown parkade.

Ntunaguza, 32, is charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection with the attack on the woman. Fedorchuk noted the complainant testified in court, that the man who raped her was bald, unlike his client.

The lawyer also told court the woman said Ntunaguza was wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans, which video evidence that captured his client leaving the scene showed wasn’t correct.

Fedorchuk noted LRT surveillance video showed the accused before the attack with an acquaintance who was dressed that way.

But Crown prosecutor Deven Singhal said Ntunaguza’s claim another man must have come along after he had sex with the woman, leaving his DNA, made no sense.

“It is a case where defence wants you to build doubt on what amounts to a ghost story,” he said.

The prosecutor said it made no sense that a rapist would appear after Ntunaguza had consensual sex with the woman for money and rape her “without leaving any DNA.”

“This ghost story should not leave you in reasonable doubt.”

Jurors began deliberations late Wednesday afternoon after hearing final legal instructions from Justice Adam Germain.