Hobart man denies sexually abusing partner as she nursed newborn baby

A Hobart mother has provided harrowing testimony of a former partner’s alleged six-month reign of sexual and emotional abuse, which was perpetrated as she nursed their newborn baby.

Hobart man denies abusing partner as she nursed newborn.

A Hobart mother has provided the Supreme Court with harrowing details of a former partner’s alleged six-month reign of sexual and emotional abuse, which was perpetrated as she nursed their newborn baby.

The man, who the Mercury had chosen not to name to protect the identity of the victim, has pleaded not guilty to one count of persistent family violence, relating to conduct said to have occurred in the couple’s home from late 2020.

On Wednesday, Crown prosecutor, Liz Avery, told the jury that to find the defendant guilty of the charge, they must find he committed “an unlawful family violence act” against the complainant on at least three occasions.

Ms Avery said the prosecution would present evidence of six separate instances of rape, and one incident of indecent assault.

But defence counsel, Todd Kovacic, said jury members would not need to concern themselves about definitions of consent, because the alleged sexual acts had not occurred.

“The defence case is that this is fiction – it never happened,” Mr Kovacic said.

Giving evidence from a remote witness room, the complainant told the court that she and the man first met through an online dating service, with the couple eventually moving in together to a house in suburban Hobart.

Existing fault lines in the relationship were exacerbated four years later when the woman fell pregnant to the man, and gave birth to their child.

The woman said her then-partner became jealous of her nursing the baby in front of him, and began perpetrating a series of non-consensual sexual encounters which took place while she was seated or lying down with the infant.

The woman said on each occasion she had repeatedly told the man she did not want physical contact, but had her pleas ignored.

“He didn’t seem to listen, and didn’t seem to care about my feelings,” the woman told the court.

“He just became more forceful. It was like I was in a position he wanted me in.

“I was vulnerable and could barely fight back.”

The woman broke down as she described being raped on a living room couch by her then-partner.

“I told him to stop but he … just kept going,” she said.

“He is a lot bigger than me and a lot heavier.

“I could not do anything to fight back.”

The woman said although she eventually left the family home with her baby to move in with her sister, she would spend two nights a week in the spare bedroom at her former residence to allow the defendant time with his child.

That arrangement ceased in mid 2021, however, after the man allegedly indecently assaulted her in the middle of the night following a violent outburst involving the child’s sleeping patterns.

The woman, who later contacted police to seek assistance in getting the man to stop contacting her, admitted to the court that she had not raised the allegations of sexual assault during that initial discussion with authorities.

“I felt completely ashamed, and was blaming myself,” she explained.

The trial, before Justice Kate Cuthbertson, continues.