A 17-year-old school girl cycling to a friend’s house was approached by a man who asked her for oral sex when she stopped to use her phone, a court heard yesterday.
Shane Dibben (32) appeared yesterday on the first day of a jury trial before Justice Cameron Mander in the High Court at Invercargill.
He is charged with assault with intent to commit sexual violation or an alternative charge of aggravated assault in Invercargill on December 13, 2021.
Crown lawyer Riki Donnelly said the Crown would need to prove Dibben assaulted the girl with the intention of committing sexual violation either by having sex with her or having her perform oral sex on him, knowing she did not consent to either.
The intent would be proven, Mr Donnelly said, in the conversation Dibben had with the girl before she tried to get away. From that conversation, jurors could infer what his intentions were.
Giving evidence in court yesterday, the victim, now 18 years old, said she had completed her last year 12 exam that day and was on her way to a friend’s house to pick up the road code as she had decided to get her driver’s licence.
She stopped at the Otepuni bridge on the way to text her friend to make sure she was home.
It was then Dibben, who was also out cycling, stopped to talk to her.
While the conversation started off with small talk, it soon changed.
He started making comments about her body, "that I had big boobs and things like that".
The comments made her feel "pretty icky", she said.
He told her her lips would be good for performing oral sex and pointed to the church on the corner of Miller and Lindisfarne Sts and said "wouldn’t it be fun if we had sex outside of the church?"
During the conversation she replied "no" 25 to 50 times, she said.
When she asked if she should ring the police or her mother, he responded "I bet she’s hot just like you".
She also hoped to put him off by saying she was a minor.
She got on her bike and pulled away. He caught up to her but
fell after pulling on her bag.
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Sonia Vidal said the girl agreed Dibben was being cheeky to her.
When questioned, the girl said they did walk together for some time, talking.
She accepted the man may have asked if he could walk with her and that her tote bag may have been on the handlebars of the bike when she biked away from the man the first time.
However, after the lunch break, the girl was more certain of where the bag was.
"As he’s approached where your bike is, he’s turned to look at traffic coming from behind him and his handle bar has caught the loop or shoulder strap of your tote bag," Ms Vidal put to the girl.
"I believe it was his hand," the girl said.
She believed the tote bag was on her shoulder as it would be safer for her to cycle that way.
The trial, which is expected to take three days, continues today.
