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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Soofia Tariq

'Cavalier' influencer 'created false allegations' against alleged rapist, court told

Chidi Okwechime has pleaded not guilty to five charges. Picture: Blake Foden

An "influencer" alleging she was raped by a "deranged animal" she met at a Canberra nightclub has been labelled "inconsistent" and "unreliable" by the accused man's barrister.

Chidi Chike Okwechime, 34, is on trial in the ACT Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one choking charge following an incident in May 2021.

During closing addresses on Tuesday afternoon, a prosecutor told the jury the woman "said no in various different ways" to sexual intercourse but the Conder man was "reckless".

The prosecutor said the victim was credible as everything she had said was seen on CCTV and she had made an "early report" of the incident.

Okwechime's barrister, Steven Whybrow, then gave his closing statement, telling the jury the alleged victim's account was "inconsistent" and "unreliable".

Mr Whybrow said it was "entirely possible" the alleged victim had "convinced herself" she was raped when she and Okwechime went to the Coombs home of one of the 34-year-old's friends after clubbing.

The barrister suggested she had "created the false allegations" about what had happened to her after it was "inadvertently suggested to her" by police.

"She was chaotic, she was on valium, she was on cocaine, she was drinking alcohol," Mr Whybrow said.

Mr Whybrow also said the woman had been "cavalier about the truth" and made "derogatory, half-racist comments" about Okwechime.

The barrister suggested the woman, who had been snorting cocaine with Okwechime's friends in a toilet at Kokomo's in Civic, was "annoyed and angry" when she was not given more of the drug at Fiction nightclub.

Acting Justice Stephen Norrish is expected to sum up the case on Wednesday before the jury retires to deliberate on its verdict.

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