Rape accused asked to share bed, court told

A New Plymouth man accused of rape betrayed a friendship, a jury has been told.

Kamyn Murray John Pratt appeared in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday and denied one charge of sexual violation by rape.

The Crown, represented by Jacob Bourke, said Pratt had raped the complainant while she slept in the early hours of March 22, 2018, at her New Plymouth home.

Defence lawyer Patrick Mooney said his client believed the sex was consensual.

Bourke told the court that Pratt and the complainant were friends who had previously connected on the mobile app Tinder, but Pratt then started a relationship.

His new partner was friends with a friend of the complainant, and the four became a tight-knit group, Bourke said.

‘‘He betrayed that friendship and he betrayed that trust.’’

Pratt had been drinking in Stratford and called her to pick him up, Bourke said.

She let him sleep on the couch, but he asked to sleep in her bed and made his way into her room, telling her it was fine, they were friends and could sleep in the same bed.

She created a pillow wall, but after a while felt the defendant’s arm come across her, Bourke said.

She told him ‘no, it’s not happening’ and to get back on his side of the bed, Bourke added.

The complainant woke up in the night on her back, with her T-shirt pulled up, her underwear down her ankles and Pratt on top having sex with her.

‘‘As soon as she wakes up she pushed the defendant off and says: ‘What are you doing? I was asleep’.’’

The defendant’s answer was he thought it was what she wanted, Bourke said.

He told the jury they would hear from several witnesses, including the complainant, a friend of hers who woke up to multiple missed calls, and her sister, who told her to call the police.

Swabs taken from the defendant showed the complainant’s DNA, Bourke said.

Both lawyers told the jury they had to consider the matter of consent.

Mooney said the complainant allowed Pratt in her home and in her bed.

‘‘While they are both lying in her bed they’re talking, and they’re talking for a period of time, and they are touching. And they are touching – not just a simple touch but quite extensive touching – and following that they had sex.

‘‘Certainly Mr Pratt believed it was consensual as a direct result of what was happening in that bedroom.’’

The trial, in front of Judge Gregory Hikaka, commenced with 11 jurors – six men and five women -after a connection was discovered between the defendant and a juror.

Judge Hikaka told the jurors the trial was set down for four days.

The hearing continues.