A man who allegedly broke into a Dunedin flat and raped a student will remain behind bars without plea.
The 36-year-old defendant appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday charged with the burglary of a Cosy Dell Rd flat, three counts of violating a young woman and one of strangulation.
Judge Deidre Orchard continued interim name suppression to protect the man’s fair-trial rights.
No application for bail was made nor pleas entered and the defendant will appear in court again next month.
A source told the Otago Daily Times the complainant woke in the early hours of February 4 to a masked man in her bedroom with his hand over her mouth.
The alleged sex attack took place over a protracted period and the defendant allegedly made the woman wash her hands before he left.
It is also understood he took bed sheets with him.
Residents of Cosy Dell Rd previously told the ODT news of the incident had spread rapidly and had put them on edge.
The street has gained something of a reputation in recent years and many of the flats there are equipped with CCTV and security lights.
Last year, a 21-year-old student dubbed "The Cosy Dell Creeper" was caught on camera tiptoeing around one flat’s laundry and later pleaded guilty to three burglaries, which included stealing underwear, and a charge of unlawfully being in an enclosed yard.
In December, the man won a High Court appeal, which meant his convictions were wiped and his name permanently suppressed.
