A government employee is accused of secretly recording a sexual liaison with a woman he met through his work.
The defendant, aged in his 30s, is on trial before the Dunedin District Court on Monday after pleading not guilty to a charge of making an intimate visual recording.
His occupation and name remain suppressed.
The court heard the man met the complainant through his work in February 2021, before they reinitiated contact more than a year later following a chance meeting at her workplace.
The woman said she received a notification on Instagram later that day from the defendant.
“Hey good to see you today. Good to see you’re in a better place... good luck with your studies,” the man sent.
She recalled being “excited” he had found her online and there followed multiple messages which included her sending nude photos and videos.
“I felt that I had to prove myself to him,” the complainant told the court.
There were subsequent messages between the pair but the woman said the defendant seemed unsure because of his relationship status at the time.
“The door will be unlocked for you whenever you want me,” she sent.
However, there was a hiatus in communication before they resumed contact again in May 2022.
The complainant said she was frustrated by the lack of physical contact and the man visited her several days later at her request.
The woman recounted the consensual acts which immediately took place.
“I turned around to look at him... and it was at that moment he had his phone out in his hand with the camera pointing at me,” she said.
There had been no prior discussion about him filming the event, the woman stressed.
The sexual activity stopped abruptly when her flatmate returned home and she said the defendant then “snuck out of the front door”.
She said she did not raise the issue of the cell phone at the time but later that evening messaged to ask what his intentions with the footage were.
“You’ve got it all on camera though. You going to keep it for yourself?” the complainant sent.
She asked for a copy of the footage to see what had been captured and pressed the issue, becoming “really concerned” when he did not send it.
“It was just ballsy. I just couldn’t understand why he would do it,” the woman told the court.
The defendant later claimed to have deleted the sex tape and sent her a screenshot of his camera roll to reassure her.
The online contact between the two ceased shortly afterwards, the court heard.
Cross-examination of the complainant will begin this afternoon.
The trial, before Judge Emma Parsons in the absence of jury, is expected to conclude today.
