Man denies sexual attack

A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her home dramatically changed his story in an effort to explain his actions, a court has heard.

But the man’s lawyer says his conduct after his arrest shows his account stacks up.

Lawyers for and against Mohammed Abdiwali made their arguments to the jury hearing his trial in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday.

Abdiwali, 30, denies indecently assaulting and sexually violating a woman in her home in December 2020.

He does not deny having sexual contact with the woman, who invited him to her place after a brief conversation while she mowed her lawn, but says it was consensual.

The woman, however, told the trial she did not want any sexual contact and did not give Abdiwali any idea she did.

Crown prosecutor Guy Carter said the woman was ‘‘friendly to the wrong person’’.

‘‘Mr Abdiwali took advantage of her friendliness and sexually assaulted her.’’

The woman’s account had been clear throughout and was backed by independent evidence, such as a text message she sent to a friend asking them to go to her house and her hysterical nature once the friend arrived.

She also went to police the day of the incident, Carter said.

‘‘If this was a consensual encounter she later regrets or felt guilty about, why would she tell anyone?’’

Abdiwali, meanwhile, constructed a ‘‘ridiculous fantasy’’ about him and the woman having a consensual sexual encounter in multiple parts of her home, Carter said.

That encounter included descriptions of actsthat were not physically possible and not supported by evidence, and he did not give the full details of it when he gave a statement to police.

Those details also changed in court, Carter said.

Abdiwali’s lawyer Simon Hewson said Abdiwali consistently asked a doctor to take certain swabs as they would support his account of consensual sexual activity, but they were not taken.

He also did not get a chance to fully explain his account to police, as the officer kept shutting him down, Hewson said.

It was also important to take into account Abdiwali’s background as a Somalian refugee with limited education, especially in relation to his evidence in court. ‘‘He has a man who is tertiary educated [Carter] with a whole police force of resources behind him – it’s not an equal battle,’’ Hewson said.

Abdiwali told police he did nothing because he believed he had done nothing wrong, Hewson said.

When summing up the case to the jury, Judge Jonathan Krebs said Abdiwali’s account had to be considered and assessed to see if he did or did not have reasonable belief of consent.

If the jury was sure sexual acts happened, they could find Abdiwali guilty only if they excluded the possibility of the woman giving consent and of Abdiwali having a reasonable belief in consent, the judge said.

The jury retired to consider its verdicts at 12.45pm, was sent home at 5pm and will continue deliberating today.