Christian Lethern, 35, accused of luring teen to non-existent ‘gathering’ before sexual assault

A man is on trial after he allegedly messaged a teenager on Snapchat before he lured her to his brother’s flat under false pretenses and sexually assaulted her. He claims “she didn’t say no once”.

Christian Lethern is on trial at Coffs Harbour District Court charged with several counts of sexual assault alleged to have occurred in 2020.

A man is on trial after he allegedly messaged a teenager on Snapchat before he lured her to his brother’s flat under false pretenses and sexually assaulted her.

Christian Lethern, 35, appeared before Coffs Harbour District Court on Monday, defending three charges of sexual intercourse without consent and two charges of sexually touch another person without consent.

Police allege that on the night of May 21, 2020, Lethern sent a direct Snapchat message to a 19-year-old woman— the alleged victim. It was heard in court the woman and Lethern were not known to each other.

The court heard that Lethern and the teen messaged for an hour before he invited her to a small gathering in Coffs Harbour and arranged for the learner driver to come to a Cornish St residence via taxi.

Christian Lethern is defending charges against him at Coffs Harbour District Court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) told the court when the alleged victim arrived she was surprised to find there was no gathering and only two people were there — the accused and his brother, who left a short time later.

Lethern’s brother is not accused of any wrongdoing.

The DPP told the court the accused offered the alleged victim a drink and said “There’s no drugs in it” before he locked the door and allegedly began sexually assaulting her.

The court heard that the alleged victim was “terrified”, repeatedly told the accused “no” and asked Lethern to use a condom.

Lethern refused and replied “I have no diseases”, the court heard.

Christian Lethern is accused of several counts of sexual assault after allegedly messaging a teenager on Snapchat in 2020.

During the DPP’s opening statement, Lethern interrupted proceedings from the dock and said “She didn’t say no once,” before apologising to the court for the outburst.

Lethern previously pleaded not guilty to the charges on October 9, 2023.

Defence for the accused, Mr John Carty, argued the alleged victim “was willing and indeed an enthusiastic participant”.

“In particular the accused denies at any time that she (the alleged victim) said no,” Mr Carty told the court.

The first witness to take the stand in the judge alone trial before Judge Michael McHugh was the alleged victim who gave her evidence before a closed courtroom.

The trial continues on February 4 with further witnesses to be cross examined and DNA evidence to be submitted to the court in coming days.

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Originally published as Christian Lethern, 35, accused of luring teen to non-existent ‘gathering’ before sexual assault