Man pleads not guilty to churchyard rape
A MAN bragged about his penis size before allegedly raping a young woman he met online, in the grounds of a Brisbane cathedral, a court has heard.
A MAN bragged about his penis size before allegedly raping a young woman he met online, in the grounds of a Brisbane cathedral, a court has heard.
Mitchell Cameron Peggie, 26, has pleaded not guilty to three counts each of rape and sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Peggie’s barrister has used underwear as a defence — grilling the alleged victim about why she wore “sexy lingerie” on the date and accussing her of being a liar.
On the first day of his Brisbane District Court trial, Crown Prosecutor Brendan White told the jury Peggie met his alleged victim via an online dating platform called Oasis.
The court heard they organised to meet after exchanging more than 200 text messages in which Peggie told her he liked “rough f***ing” and wanted to meet an “adventurous” girl.
Mr White said the complainant later met up with Peggie at a bar in the city and claimed he boasted about the size of his penis and his dating history.
The jury heard the pair then went for a walk, during which he repeatedly touched her bottom, and ended up at the Cathedral of St Stephen.
There, Mr White said Peggie pushed the student, then 21, against a stone monument and groped her.
“She pushed him away (and) said, ‘I am not that easy, you have to work for it, I don’t have sex on the first date,’ or something like that,” Mr White said on Monday.
“He pulled her into the wall of the cathedral (and) said words to the effect of, ‘I am working for it’.”
Later, the Crown alleges, he placed his hand around her neck, turned her body and raped her against the wall.
It was heard the complainant drove Peggie to his house but she refused to come in and called a help line when she got home. The next day, the court heard she texted a friend: “He wanted something, I said no, he got it anyway”.
After she approached the police, Mr White said DNA consistent with Peggie was detected on her neck.
Peggie’s defence barrister Douglas Wilson painted the alleged victim as a liar during cross examination.
She was grilled in court about why she wore “sexy lingerie” and agreed to walk with her alleged attacked, The Courier-Mail reports.
She was also accused of “moaning” and “gasping” in pleasure — claims she denies — and quizzed about why she didn’t cry out to a passer-by for help during the attack.
The trial before Judge Deborah Richards continues.