A lady who claims she was tricked into having intercourse and not using a condom with a Sri Lankan cricketer has informed a court docket there have been moments throughout intercourse she “feared” for her life.
Danushka Gunathilaka is dealing with a decide alone trial on the Downing Centre District Court after pleading not responsible to at least one cost of sexual assault with out consent.
The worldwide cricket participant walked into the court docket advanced holding palms with a blonde lady, who will not be the complainant, forward of the anticipated four-day trial in entrance of Judge Sarah Huggett on Monday morning.
He is dealing with trial over an incident on November 2 final yr, the place Crown Prosecutor Gabrielle Steedman informed the court docket the 32-year-old met up with a girl at Sydney’s Opera Bar after matching on Tinder.
At the time, the batsman was in Australia to play within the T20 World Cup.
It will not be in dispute that the pair had chatted a number of occasions via Tinder, Instagram and video known as on WhatsApp from October 31 earlier than their assembly three days later.
CCTV footage performed to the court docket reveals the pair hugging as they meet at Opera Bar, with additional footage exhibiting the pair kissing whereas ready for a ferry again to the girl’s house.
The lady, who can’t be named for authorized causes, gave proof through AVL on Monday the place she informed the court docket the kiss was “forceful”.
“It didn’t feel nice, he also slapped my buttocks quite hard,” the girl informed the court docket.
They returned to the girl’s house within the japanese suburbs about 11pm when the alleged sexual assault occurred, the court docket was informed.
The lady, who can’t be named for authorized causes, gave proof through AVL on Monday morning the place she informed the court docket she poured herself and Mr Gunathilaka a glass of wine earlier than he started kissing her on her sofa “quite forcefully”.
“He was on top of me, I remember him kissing me quite forcefully,” the girl mentioned.
“I remember asking him ‘can we please take this slow’, because things were moving quite quickly and I wasn’t comfortable. I remember him looking me in the eye as I said that and not saying anything in response.”
The lady informed the court docket the pair moved to her bed room the place she requested Mr Gunathilaka to make use of a condom however he mentioned he didn’t need to as a result of he “didn’t like them”.
She informed him she needed to make use of a condom as a result of she didn’t need to get pregnant or a sexually transmitted illness.
“He said ‘don’t worry I won’t get you pregnant darling, don’t you trust me?’,” the girl mentioned.
“I remember him saying that he hated them, he said something like ‘I hate using condoms I don’t like them, it doesn’t feel good you should trust me’.”
The lady mentioned Mr Gunathilaka “hesitated” earlier than placing the condom on, which made the girl change into uncomfortable.
Ms Steedman, in her earlier opening deal with, informed the court docket the intercourse lasted for about quarter-hour and was “quite rough”.
During her proof, the girl mentioned there have been a number of occasions she feared for her life.
“I remember that Danny choked me and he put one hand on my neck and the other hand was on the bed and he choked me for 20-30 seconds,” the girl mentioned.
She informed the court docket the choking occurred no less than thrice and at one level her breath was “really constricted” and tried eradicating his palms.
The lady mentioned she observed Mr Gunathilaka had been smirking whereas he was choking her.
The lady informed the court docket at factors through the encounter Mr Gunathilaka had “the weight of his body” on her, which made her really feel “trapped and powerless”.
“I felt at that point, fearful for my life, because I couldn’t get away and I really wanted it to stop,” she mentioned.
Mr Gunathilaka then stood up from the mattress, the place the girl realised the condom was on the bottom and he hadn’t been sporting it.
In her opening deal with, Ms Steedman mentioned the alleged sufferer was “shocked’ and didn’t feel safe about saying anything for “what she says was fear of retribution”.
During her proof, the girl mentioned she felt “too afraid to continue to ask him to use a condom”.
The important problem within the trial is Mr Gunathilaka’s way of thinking as as to if or not he eliminated the condom with out the girl’s information, which is named stealthing.
Ms Steedman informed the court docket the girl had consented to protected intercourse.
The court docket was informed the girl known as Mr Gunathilaka a taxi about 12.45am, and after he left she started to really feel “frozen and in shock”.
“I remember being very aware of what was happening but my body felt really frozen,” the girl mentioned.
In the times following, the girl felt “overwhelmingly anxious” and started crying uncontrollably in public.
She informed the court docket: “A sense of feeling like I had been violated and sexually assaulted and realising also after speaking to a counsellor…that I realised again that the reason for me at times not being able to voice my non-consent was due to overwhelming fear”.
The court docket was informed the girl later informed mates she wasn’t positive what occurred however she thought it was “something bad”.
Mr Gunathilaka’s barrister, Murugan Thangaraj SC, informed the decide the Crown should show past an affordable doubt his consumer eliminated the condom “against the woman’s will”.
In his temporary opening deal with, Mr Thangaraj mentioned the cricketer is a person of “excellent character” was cooperative with police.
He argued the complainant’s proof was not credible and so as to show the case, the decide would want to just accept the girl as a reputable witness.
Mr Thangaraj mentioned within the lady’s first conversations with mates she mentioned she was uncertain if Mr Gunathilaka eliminated the condom, however she “had a feeling” he did.
He informed the court docket it was solely when the girl spoke to police that her model of the story “crystallised”.
The trial continues earlier than Judge Huggett.
Originally printed as Alleged rape sufferer of Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka ‘feared’ for her life, court docket
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
