Rape claims challenged

A woman who says she was raped multiple times left out the most serious allegations when first revealing the accused man’s behaviour to authorities, a court has heard.

The man is on trial in the Palmerston North District Court, facing 18 charges, including assault and rape. It was 19 charges, but a charge of threatening to kill was dismissed yesterday.

The Crown alleges he assaulted two children. The man is also accused of raping a woman multiple times.

The names of the complainants and defendant, and how the defendant knew each of them, are suppressed.

Defence lawyer Peter Foster produced documents in court yesterday, including signed affidavits from the woman. In them, she said the man had used verbal threats, but never discussed being raped.

There were also emails and text messages between the woman and man after the alleged rapes, the content of which was largely friendly and reconciliatory.

It was pointed out that she inserted a smiley face emoji in one of the emails. The woman said she had to ‘‘make things easy’’ with the man.

She denied she would initiate sex with the man by saying things like, ‘‘I want you to rape me’’, and that the man would do the same by saying, ‘‘I’m going to rape you tonight’’.

‘‘I don’t believe I would say that.’’

The woman said she told noone about the alleged rapes, apart from a counsellor.

But a man who knew the woman, who cannot be named without identifying her, said she had told him about one alleged rape. He said she brought it up near Christmas one year, after alleging that the defendant had also been pushing her around. She brought it up again a month later at a dinner table, with children present.

The woman also answered questions from Judge Peter Rollo about one alleged rape, when she said she was tied to a table in a garage.

The judge brought up a comment she once made to the man, that he could do anything he wanted to her body, before asking her if she said anything to let the man know she did not want to have sex.

The woman said she could not remember exactly what she may or may not have said. However, she was scared of the man due to his previous violent outbursts, and her facial expressions would have made it clear that she did not want any sexual contact.

The trial continues.

She denied she would initiate sex with the man by saying things like, ‘‘I want you to rape me’’.