Bundaberg man on trial for rape, sexual assault of partner over 3 months

An apparently loving relationship broke down into secret and protracted periods of control and abuse, a Bundaberg court has been told on day one of the man’s trial.

A Bundaberg man is facing trial in Bundaberg District Court for the alleged coercive control and rape of his partner over a 3 month period.

An apparently loving relationship deteriorated over 15 years to a nightmare of abuse and coercive control culminating in the rape and assault of a Burnett woman, a Bundaberg court heard.

The male defendant, who cannot be identified to protect his alleged victim, is contesting charges of rape, sexual assault and common assault in a trial which began in Bundaberg District Court on Monday.

In her opening statement Crown prosecutor Annica Fritz told the jury her case would outline the decline and fall of a supportive romantic relationship that began when the alleged victim and the defendant met in 2004, when they were in their late 30s.

“Things can start off well when a relationship is fresh and new ... but as that freshness fades and the shine of a new relationship begins to dim, the fall back to reality of the daily life can change things, and people’s true colours are slowly revealed,” Ms Fritz said.

A Bundaberg man is facing trial in Bundaberg District Court for the alleged coercive control and rape of his partner over a 3 month period.

The court heard that in the initial phase of their relationship, from 2004 to 2011, the relationship between the defendant and the alleged victim developed without incident.

The defendant had unstable work during this time, with the alleged victim being the breadwinner in the relationship, and he began to experience some health issues towards the end of this period, the court heard.

The prosecution will allege the onset of the defendant’s health issues brought about a change in the relationship, with the defendant being physically violent towards the alleged victim on one day in 2011.

Following this incident the couple attended counselling in an attempt to repair their relationship, but the patterns of the defendant’s abusive and controlling behaviour continued including manipulating the alleged victim into having sex with him, Ms Fritz said.

The prosecution will argue “the final straw” for the alleged victim came when the defendant raped and assaulted her on five occasions from January to March 2020.

The first alleged assault occurred in the early hours of January 1, when the alleged victim was sleeping in her bed after a New Year’s Eve party at her home.

The court heard the woman was woken up by the defendant trying to put his penis in her mouth, and despite the woman telling him “countless times” to go away he performed sexual acts without her consent, the court heard.

The jury in Bundaberg District Court heard the defendant raped and assaulted the alleged victim on five occasions from January to March 2020.

Ms Fritz told the court that on the next occasion around one month later the defendant had been pressuring the woman for sex, which she refused, telling him the relationship was over.

The defendant did not listen to her denials and touched her genitalia without her consent, the court heard.

Ms Fritz will argue the defendant’s violent behaviour continued five days later when he grabbed his alleged victim around the neck during a verbal dispute.

On the final occasion, the defendant entered the woman’s room, grabbed her from behind and performed various sexual acts without her consent, the court heard.

Ms Fritz told the jury the defence would rely on disputing the whereabouts of the defendant on New Year’s Eve 2019, because the alleged victim had not told anyone about her alleged treatment by the defendant

The prosecution’s case will not have the benefit of CCTV, eyewitness or DNA evidence, Ms Fritz said.

“Sometimes the truth stands alone, found only to the words of the complainant,” she said.

“And the reality is that sexual offences such as these often do appear in the shadows, away from prying eyes.”

The trial continues.