Two men are accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman at a home in the Hunter after she allegedly repeatedly told them she did not want to have a "threesome" with them and told them to stop.
Ryan Matthew Hawkshaw and Hayden Charles Topliss are facing a joint trial in Newcastle District Court after pleading not guilty to a string of charges stemming from the early hours of Saturday, April 22, 2023.
Crown prosecutor Charisse Hodgeman told the jury in her opening address on Tuesday, September 8, that the then 18-year-old woman knew Hawkshaw as "one of the footy boys" and from seeing him out and about in Scone.
The prosecution alleges Hawkshaw sent the woman an Instagram message saying, "Oi, pick us up", before she agreed to drive them from the local RSL club to Topliss's home just after midnight.
The jury was told that after a few minutes inside, Hawkshaw and the woman allegedly started having consensual sex in a bedroom, before he asked if she wanted "Topper" to join.
Ms Hodgeman said Hawkshaw allegedly tried to convince the woman while she repeatedly said no to having a "threesome" with them.
The Crown case is that the woman started putting her clothes on, but Topliss entered the bedroom naked and allegedly either pushed or shoved her onto the bed and started pulling her pants down.
The woman allegedly said "I don't want to do this" and "I want to go" but Hawkshaw is accused of grabbing her hair and they positioned her on the bed, the court was told.
The jury heard graphic details of the alleged acts that followed, including both men having non-consensual sex with the woman.
The Crown case is that Topliss continued to assault the woman after Hawkshaw left the room, ejaculating on her face before also leaving.
The court heard the woman drove home and allegedly told a family member later that morning that she felt like she had been "raped".
It was about a year later, on April 20, 2024, that Topliss and the woman came to be on the same dance floor at a venue. The Crown case is that he allegedly grabbed her hand and made her rub his genitals through his shorts.
The woman reported to police a few days later what she alleged occurred on both nights. Officers launched an investigation and arrested Hawkshaw and Topliss in early September 2024.
Hawkshaw and Topliss have each pleaded not guilty to four counts of having sexual intercourse without consent while in the company of each other.
The Crown case is that both accused were acting together as part of an agreement or understanding.
Topliss has pleaded not guilty to further charges of having sexual intercourse without consent and sexual touching without consent.
Barrister Sharyn Hall said during her opening address that Topliss maintained each of the sexual acts that happened in the spare bedroom of his house on April 22, 2023, was consensual, and that the alleged dance floor touching did not happen.
She told the jury they had probably all heard "far too much about footballers and their sex lives". She said it might be easy to assume the worst, particularly when it came to footballers and what they got up to on their weekends, but to think like that would be in breach of the promise they had made to the court.
She urged them to listen closely to the evidence of the complainant, who was the first witness called in the Crown case.
Barrister Caitlin Akthar, representing Hawkshaw, said the issue in the case was whether the jury could rely on the complainant's evidence about what she alleged happened.
The trial continues in Newcastle District Court.
