Ropati ‘Dom’ Finau: Drunk Queanbeyan rugby union player pleads not guilty to raping teenage girl
A drunk, powerfully-built rugby union player has fronted court over the alleged rape of a teenager that stopped only when her “terrifying” cat walked in.
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A powerfully-built rugby union player has been accused of raping a slightly-built teenager and only stopping when the woman’s cat walked in, prompting him to declare, “yuck, cats are gross”, a court has heard.
Powerfully-built Queanbeyan Whites rugby union player Ropati Dominic “Dom” Finau faced the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to a string of charges, including rape, stemming from the alleged sex attack in the early hours of November 24, 2018.
Finau, it is alleged, met his alleged victim, 18, while drinking at Mooseheads in Civic, where she repeatedly rebuffed his advances.
The court heard Finau told her at one stage “I don’t want to go home alone”.
The two then shared a taxi, although the alleged victim said Finau got out when it stopped at her house instead of continuing onwards.
The court heard Finau was so drunk at one point he was “awake but not awake” before he overpowered the slightly-built teen.
Trying to stop Finau, the teen allegedly said things like: “I don’t want this to happen” and “this is not good, stop it”.
The court heard the alleged victim at one stage told Finau to put his pants back on.
She told police Finau said to her: “I’m hard, I want this, I’m here”.
The teenager told the court she started hitting Finau in a final effort to stop his attack, before “freezing” as he completed his attack.
The alleged attack only stopped when the alleged victim’s cat came into the room, and Finau said words to the effect of “I f**king hate cats, yuck, cats are terrifying”.
Finau’s barrister, Duncan Berents, told the court the case would come down to whether the alleged victim had consented to the sexual encounter.
Mr Berents said his client and the teenager had given conflicting accounts to police.
The court was on Tuesday shown photos the alleged victim took of her swollen face in hours after the alleged rape.
She said she took the photos because “I could feel as if it was growing and swelling”.
The judge-alone trial before Chief Justice Helen Murrell, continues.