Rugby union player Claude Stephen Thomsen pleads not guilty at start of rape trial

A young man charged with digitally raping a woman the morning after an end-of-year rugby union celebration has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial in Cairns.

A young man charged with digitally raping a woman the morning after an end-of-year rugby union presentation evening has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial in Cairns.

Claude Stephen Thomsen, 27, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape in the Cairns District Court on Monday.

Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso in her opening address to the jury told the court how early in the morning of October 18, 2020, a young woman woke to find a hand rubbing the outside of her underwear before penetrating her.

“She had no idea who they belonged to and she went to scream but no sound came out,” Ms Kelso said.

“Instead she pushed the hand of the body away that was against her and got out of bed.”

Ms Kelso said the woman, as she was leaving the room, recognised the young man in the bed as one she had met earlier in the evening.

“The interactions had been so brief she couldn’t even tell you his name,” she said.

The court heard the woman immediately told a friend what had happened, and later that day told her partner and another friend.

It took several days for the woman to go to police to make a complaint, which she did on October 20, 2020.

The court heard it would transpire that the man the woman had complained about was Mr Thomsen.

Claude Thomsen. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE.

Defence barrister Michael Dalton, addressing the jury, said the case was really about “the uncertainties and complexities of interactions between the opposite sex in the context of attraction, and particularly in circumstances when too much alcohol might be involved”.

Mr Dalton said there were three issues to consider – penetration, consent, and whether or not Mr Thomsen had an honest or reasonable, but mistaken belief the woman would consent to being touched in a sexual way.

He said it was the defence case that Mr Thomsen did not penetrate the woman, but it was accepted he did rub her through her underwear.

“It’s the defence case that Mr Thomsen honestly believed, honestly and reasonably believed that the complainant would – one was sexually interested in him, and two – would consent to him touching her in a sexual way,” Mr Dalton said.

Mr Dalton said the jury would hear “much about intoxication” over the course of the trial, and the reliability of everyone’s memory of that night would be an issue.

“Remember, members of the jury, Mr Thomsen is presumed to be innocent. To convict him you must accept the complainant’s account in this trial beyond reasonable doubt.”

Ms Kelso during her opening address told the jury the woman had gone out with a group of friends on the night of October 17.

On the same night across town, the Mariners Rugby Union Football Club were having their end-of-year presentation.

Afterwards, a large group of the rugby players ended up at a nightclub and other establishments around Cairns, the court heard.

The woman and one of her friends ended up at a house, where the end-of-year celebrations continued, Ms Kelso said.

It was at that home that Ms Kelso said the young woman met Mr Thomsen and had “a very brief conversation with him”.

The court heard that after running out of alcohol, the group decided to travel to Mr Thomsen’s home to keep drinking.

“Once they arrived, (the complainant) who had effectively stopped drinking since leaving the nightclub said she was tired, and wanted to lay down on a couch for a while and have a nap,” Ms Kelso said.

She was told that because she was a girl she was welcome to use one of the beds, and one was made available for her to lie down in, the court heard.

“Now it was after she went to sleep expecting her alarm to wake her up in a couple of hours, that she woke up to another person in the bed,” Ms Kelso said.

The court was closed on Monday afternoon while the woman gave evidence.

The trial before Judge Anthony Rafter SC will resume on Tuesday morning.

Originally published as Rugby union player Claude Stephen Thomsen pleads not guilty at start of rape trial