AN alleged sexual predator who admitted raping a woman in a random attack at Islington before texting his wife to pick him up at King Street McDonald's wants to change his guilty plea and defend the charge.
David John Greentree, now 49, of Windale, in December pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent after the DPP agreed to withdraw a more serious charge during the Newcastle District Court's super callover.
He was expected to be sentenced next week, but on Thursday barrister Rebecca Suters said Greentree intended to apply to have his guilty plea traversed.
The matter is listed for hearing in April.
Greentree was at a work Christmas party and had already tried to inappropriately touch his male colleagues when he was denied entry to the Newcastle Hotel at Islington on December 10, 2021.
At the same time, a young woman finishing her shift at a nearby restaurant headed to her van when she was attacked by Greentree.
According to agreed facts, Greentree had already been drinking at the Hamilton Station Hotel and the Kent before heading towards Maitland Road.
The labourer's colleagues were allowed into the Newcastle Hotel, but Greentree was denied entry due to his level of intoxication and argued with a security guard before walking off alone.
At about 11:30pm, the victim had finished her shift and opened the passenger side door of her van to reach for perfume in her centre console.
That's when Greentree snuck up behind her, pushing her into the van with what the victim described as a "vicious look" in his eyes.
He told the victim "no one is going to hear you scream" while holding her down, putting his hand over her mouth and sexually assaulting her.
The victim punched Greentree in the head 15 times and called out to a passerby, prompting Greentree to run off.
They called 000 and kept following him until he ran along Fern Street and hid, eventually leaving his hiding spot to go back to the Kent Hotel to have another drink.
At almost 1am, Greentree texted his wife asking her to pick him up at McDonald's in Newcastle and when she arrived at 2am she found him asleep on the grass outside.
DNA on a pair of sunglasses found in the woman's van was linked to Greentree and he was arrested at work three days later.
Greentree told police he had "more full-strength beer than he should have" arguing he didn't remember the attack, saying "No, no way I would have done that, I can't remember but I didn't do it, I just can't believe it happened".
"I'm not gunna [sic] deny it, but I can't remember doing it," he told police.
To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.
