Andrew Thomas Dadley: Fire chief takes the stand at rape trial
A fire chief has taken the stand to give his account of the night when he is alleged to have twice raped a female colleague after a Christmas party.
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The first a top Fire and Rescue official knew of allegations he twice raped a female firefighter was when police officers paid a midnight visit to his north shore home, a court has heard.
Andrew Thomas Dadley took the stand at his District Court trial on Tuesday accused of two counts of rape and one of indecent assault following a Christmas party in the early hours of December 9, 2016.
The woman alleges she woke naked and in a “dreamlike state” to the Superintendent having sex with her before taking her to a second room, rubbing her vagina and starting intercourse again.
Dadley, who appeared composed while giving evidence, firmly denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. “That’s not true,” he told the court.
The 44-year-old told the court he accepted an invitation to stay in a spare room at the woman’s unit after his plans to catch a public transport home to Wahroonga following the party were scuppered as trains had stopped running.
He shared a drink with the woman and another friend before giving her a hug and the three retired to sleep in their separate quarters, the court heard.
But his next recollection was waking up in a pitch black room “being struck” in the face and “somebody yelling”, Dadley said.
“Initially I was quite disoriented but after a couple of seconds I realised it was (the woman),” he said.
“I jumped up very quickly, then I was pushed against the wall and struck a few more times.”
Dadley said the woman was yelling words to the effect of “Who the f*** do you think you are?” before she shoved his shoes into his chest, grabbed him by the back of the neck and marched him to the door.
“It was a strange situation … (I thought) I’m not going to fight them so I left,” he told the court.
As far as he knew, the only person who had been assaulted was himself, he said, with the court hearing he received some bruising to the left side of his neck from the woman’s grip.
When Dadley got home about 4.20am he slept in the spare room so not to wake his wife, who asked the next day how the party went.
“Some strange s*** happened,” he testified was his reply.
The court heard Dadley tried to call the alleged victim on several occasions throughout December 9, 2016, with the accused giving evidence he wanted to “find out what had occurred” and to make arrangements to retrieve a backpack he was forced to abandon at the scene.
He denied having any prior knowledge of the alleged sexual assault before police knocked on his door about midnight on December 10.
Crown prosecutor Tarik Abdulhak, however, suggested Dadley made the phone calls because he feared the woman would report the alleged rape to police.
“At that time I believed I was the only person who had been assaulted,” Dadley said.
Mr Abdulhak also suggested Dadley “remained quiet” and made no protest about his unceremonious removal from the woman’s unit because he “knew he had done the wrong thing” and did not want to wake a friend who was sleeping on the lounge.
“No that’s not correct,” Dadley replied.
He also denied touching a black pair of underpants found at the scene that DNA tests revealed contained a male profile matching his own.
The trial continues.