A man who is standing trial for rape and injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm had previously pushed the same complainant out of a moving car, jurors heard yesterday.
A list of the offences the man had previously committed against the victim as well as agreed facts from this case were read out before Judge Duncan Harvey in the Invercargill District Court yesterday.
In opening the Crown’s case, prosecutor William Chapman said while driving back from the pub in Woodland after buying alcohol, the defendant had assaulted the woman, admitting he had repeatedly punched her, grabbed her hair and pushed her head twice against the car window.
A passenger in the car left the man and woman after trying to stop the assault.
However, the woman alleges the man also raped her while she was in the car and kicked her and hit her across her shoulders with something hard while she was face down in long grass outside the car after the other passenger had left.
Defence counsel Ella Collis said in her opening jurors were going to hear evidence during the trial which could be described as brutal and disgraceful, adding there was no excuse for the man’s actions.
"He accepts that he assaulted her, that he caused these injuries to her."
What he did not accept were the further two allegations, she said.
Ms Collis said the victim had drunk alcohol and had smoked cannabis on the night of the alleged offending and was suffering from the effects of a concussion when she was retelling her story to police.
During a police interview on November 26, the woman said being repeatedly hit in the head before the alleged rape happened had caused her to go in and out of consciousness. However, she did remember him with his pants down and him taking off her jeggings and underwear before raping her.
The next thing she remembered was being face down on the ground in the long grass.
The man had his knee on her back and pushed her head into the grass with his hands before kicking her in the ribs. He then told her he was going to kill her before going to his car to get something out of the boot.
"He came back and I remember something smashing me on my shoulder. The next thing I remember I was back in the house."
Ms McKenzie also outlined the man’s previous assaults, which he was convicted of in February 2020 and July and October 2016.
They included pushing the woman out of a moving car as well as punching, slapping, kicking and spitting at her, dragging her by the hair, dropping an empty drawer on her and using a piece of art to hit her.
The trial of the man, who has name suppression for the duration of the trial, continues today.
