The victim of a man on trial charged with rape had allegedly performed sexual acts on the man because she was afraid of being hurt, the Crown says.
A High Court jury trial for Anaru Morgan (22) started yesterday in Invercargill, before Justice Cameron Mander.
Morgan denies three charges of abduction for the purposes of sexual connection, unlawful sexual connection and rape.
Crown prosecutor Riki Donnelly, opening the case, said the trial, expected to take four days, would be focused on an incident in a motel in Invercargill on March 3, 2020.
Mr Donnelly said the victim, who was granted name suppression, described herself as a masseuse and she frequently visited Invercargill to provide services for clients.
She was in the motel when she received a call from a landline whereby arrangements for a meeting later on that day were made.
"The man in this call was the defendant," Mr Donnelly said.
When he arrived at the motel, he went to her unit and she told him she only accepted cash.
Although the man stated he would get the cash, he did not leave the unit.
Mr Donnelly said the woman tried to open the door, but the man allegedly shut it and took the keys out.
A struggle between them occurred at the door and she sustained an injury to her arm. She then offered to perform a sexual act on him because she was scared of being hurt by him, he said.
"It is because of this fear that she offers sexual services to this man. The Crown says that is not a true consent — it is consenting arising from that fear.
"She is only doing that because she didn’t want to be hurt."
The woman did not report the incident to the police but after she spoke to the motel staff about it, the manager informed the police. about it.
Mr Donnelly said Morgan was arrested the next day and during his dealings with police he made comments in relation to the incident which could corroborate the Crown’s case.
The police officers who overheard those comments would be giving evidence during the trial.
Defence counsel Hugo Young did not address the jury yesterday.
