Alan Vico pleads not guilty at rape trial in Cairns court

The defence for a man accused of rape has suggested the highly intoxicated woman was capable of consenting to sex but would not remember it as she was in a ‘blackout’, a Cairns court has heard.

A NORWEGIAN exchange student who has accused a former Ports North executive of rape was operating in ‘blackout’ – heavily intoxicated and capable of conscious decisions but with no memory, the man’s defence barrister argued in Cairns District Court on Monday.

Alan George Vico has pleaded not guilty to rape.

Mr Vico’s barrister Harvey Walters told the jury there was a difference between a person being incapable of giving consent and a person in blackout.

“Alcohol blackout is when a person is still awake but the brain is not creating memories,” Mr Walters said.

Forner Ports North executive Alan George Vico is on trial accused of raping a Norwegian exchange student in 2018. PICTURE: STEWART McLEAN

Crown prosecutor Claudia Georgouras said in her opening address the woman had an estimated blood alcohol content (BAC) of .229 at the Woolshed, which she left at 10.22pm.

Ms Georgouras said the woman had an estimated BAC of .214 when she was in a taxi, believing she was in Brisbane and giving the cab driver her Brisbane address.

At 11.55pm when she got to the Southside International Motel at Earlville with Mr Vico, her estimated BAC was .207.

At 7am the following morning, her BAC was .102.

She said the woman bought a 10-pack of cider cans and went to a barbecue at another hostel with friends before going to the Woolshed at 9.30pm.

Cairns District Court has heard that Alan Vico, who has pleaded not guilty to rape, took a heavily intoxicated 20-year-old Norwegian student to the Southside International Motel at Earlville on September 20, 2018.

Her last memory was standing at a table at the Woolshed, until 7am when she woke naked with a $20 note and a condom wrapper on the bedside table, the court heard.

The woman was asked to leave the Woolshed by security guards and a friend who tried to take her to meet back up with her friends at Gilligan’s described it as a “chaotic journey’, Ms Georgouras said.

The woman got into a taxi but ultimately got out on Sheridan St.

Mr Vico spotted her as he was driving home to Clifton Beach, did a U-turn and put her in his car, the court heard.

Cairns District Court has heard that a Norwegian student last recalled being at The Woolshed before waking naked in a motel room the following day.

Ms Georgouras said a recording of him booking the hotel room would show he booked for two and when asked if separate beds were required, he said no.

Ms Georgouras said evidence would show three used condoms were removed from the wheelie bin at Mr Vico’s house – one had no DNA, one had his DNA, and one had the woman’s DNA.

A rape kit test on the woman at Cairns Hospital showed what was likely to be Mr Vico’s DNA, Ms Georgouras said.

She said CCTV footage would show the pair entering the room at 11.57pm and Mr Vico leaving at 4am.

The trial before Judge Michael Rackemann is expected to continue to Thursday.

Originally published as Alan Vico pleads not guilty at rape trial in Cairns court