‘I did not consent, I relented’, court told
A woman who accused a top cricketer of raping her broke down in court as she recounted the effect the alleged incident and its aftermath had on her.
Northern Districts player Scott Christopher Kuggeleijn, 24, is on trial in the Hamilton District Court, facing a single charge of raping the woman in her bed, following a night of drinking in Hamilton in May, 2015.
The second day of the trial got under way yesterday afternoon, following a lengthy legal debate in chambers – matters which the media are restricted from reporting – after which defence counsel Philip Morgan QC’s meticulous cross-examination of the alleged victim continued, followed by Crown prosecutor Jacinda Foster’s re-examination.
‘‘I’m not lying,’’ the woman, who was aged 20 at the time of the alleged incident, said as Foster neared the conclusion of her questions.
Earlier, Morgan took issue with the complainant’s testimony that she was not able to offer any resistance and was not compelled to call for help as Kuggeleijn allegedly raped her in her bed, in a student flat in Hamilton East about dawn on May 17 last year.
‘‘Did you relent or succumb to what you felt were social pressures on you?’’ Morgan asked. ‘‘That if you did not give in, you would be treated by your social group as a bitch or a tease?’’ ‘‘No,’’ the woman replied. ‘‘By relented, did you mean you gave in [to Kuggeleijn’s advances]?’’
‘‘I mean I did not have any other options,’’ she said.
‘‘You know what the difference is between a woman relenting and a woman consenting is,’’ he asked her – to which she replied that she did.
‘‘I did not consent. I relented because I had no other options . . . I was held down and physically overpowered.’’
Another exchange between Morgan and the complainant focused on whether the woman had used the word ‘‘no’’, right before Kuggeleijn allegedly raped her at dawn.
The woman had said no during two previous advances earlier that night, as the pair kissed and fondled each other in her bed – but whether she had used that word prior to the alleged incident itself was still up for dispute, Morgan said. ‘‘I put this to you: In the morning period the word ‘no’ never passed your lips. You were silent throughout.’’
‘‘That is completely not correct,’’ the woman said.
She later told Foster she said no ‘‘several times’’.
Kuggeleijn is well known in cricketing circles.
He played for Wellington for two seasons, but moved back to Hamilton in 2013.
In 2014 he was named Northern Knights bowler of the year and cricketer of the year.
He is also the son of former New Zealand and Northern Districts cricketer Chris Kuggeleijn.
The trial, before Judge Philip Connell, will likely end on Friday.