A Dunedin man accused of raping an intoxicated woman told police in an interview he thought the act was consensual.
The trial of the 20-year-old facing one charge of sexual violation by rape continued yesterday in the Dunedin District Court before Judge Michael Turner.
CCTV footage of the pair walking side by side through the Octagon without incident was shared with the jury.
The man said the pair chatted at the lookout for a while before the woman said she wanted to lie down and began to kiss him.
When asked by counsel Meg Scally whether it was possible she had communicated consent but may not remember, the woman said: "No. I was asleep, passed out."
Police tracked down the man accused of the crime a few hours after the incident and yesterday the jury watched his interview, conducted by Detective Mark Durant.
"She said she was asleep and she’s woken up to you having sex with her, which has been very upsetting for her," Det Durant said.
"What made you think she was awake?"
The man said while the woman had been wobbly, she appeared to be communicating relatively normally.
"I know she was awake — she talked to me ... We kissed and then sex," the defendant said.
The defence case began yesterday with counsel Karlena Lawrence addressing the jury: "If you cannot be sure that [the defendant] did not hold a reasonable belief that she was consenting, you must return a verdict of not guilty.
"Have you been convinced beyond a reasonable doubt?"
On Tuesday, the jury listened to the breathless 111 call made by the complainant early on December 24, 2022.
"I just got raped", the woman said.
Six minutes after the call was made, two police officers arrived on the scene, finding the woman alone and "partly in a gutter" in Signal Hill Rd, the court heard.
Yesterday, the jury heard from those officers, who said the woman appeared intoxicated, confused and distressed.
The complainant said her memory of the evening was "very foggy" and she could not remember entire chunks of what had happened.
Her last memory was being refused entry to a local bar before waking up as she was being allegedly violated in the back-seat of a car, the court heard.
The trial continues today.
