A man who allegedly raped a woman told police he previously had times when he had not remembered having sex with women after suffering blackouts when drinking.
Hone Collier (34), of Gore, is on trial for rape and sexual violation of a woman at a party in Gore on February 15, 2019.
The jury trial before Judge Duncan Harvey began in the Invercargill District Court on Monday.
Yesterday, Collier’s police evidential interview conducted on February 18 was played in court.
Collier said he had known the complainant since he was 15 or 16 and she was about 21.
He admitted having sex with her when he was 19, when she was engaged to someone else.
She had also tried to "hook up" with him at a 21st birthday party they had both attended, he said.
On February 15, 2019, he first saw the complainant outside the Traffers pub. She came up to him and hugged him, he said.
It was a few hours after they had gone back to the house where the party was being held that they began kissing.
Collier said everyone was drunk at the party — including himself and the complainant. He had about 15 beers throughout the the night and early morning.
He remembered kissing the complainant on the couch but could not remember anything else happening, believing he had passed out after that.
He said when he woke up everything was fine.
"I know when I got up I didn’t need to put any clothes on and stuff."
He said they began kissing again on the couch when he woke up in the morning but when he noticed that there was another person sleeping on the couch told the complainant they should not do anything else.
Collier was questioned about whether or not he had oral sex or sexual intercourse with the complainant.
At first he told Sgt Henderson he could not remember either happening but towards the end of the interview denied either happening at all.
He said there had been times in the past when he had not remembered having sex with a woman.
However, he said even if he could not remember there were usually physical signs which would indicate he had.
He said there were no such signs on the morning he woke up with the complainant.
On Wednesday, jurors heard how no semen or sperm was found on any body swabs.
Collier’s DNA, likely to have come from skin cells, was found in her posterior fornix, a recess behind the cervix, after a Y-STR DNA profile examination was undertaken by ESR scientists.
His DNA was also found on her underwear but there were no traces of sperm or semen.
Detective Leigh Waddell said she took photos of the clothing complainant was wearing on the evening of the party.
She said the complainant had a shower and placed the clothes in the washing machine after arriving home on the morning of February 15 but had not turned the washing machine on. Some of the articles in the machine were sent for forensic testing.
Judge Harvey asked Ms Waddell if any of the underwear seized from Collier’s house had been tested for DNA — she said it had not.
The Crown closed its case yesterday afternoon after which Collier’s counsel, Sonia Vidal, told the court her client had elected not to give or call evidence.
The trial continues today.
