REFUSED entry to a hotel in Darby Street, a young woman who tried to gain access through a back door, climbing a fence and crouching down in an alleyway, claims she was sexually assaulted and choked by a stranger she just met, a jury has heard.
But defence lawyers say the woman made up the claim about being raped to avoid getting into trouble for trying to sneak into the popular pub.
Jack Milner, 21, on Monday pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault and inflict actual bodily harm and faced the first day of a week-long trial in Newcastle District Court that is expected to focus on CCTV footage from various hotels, DNA evidence and testimony from the woman who claims she was attacked.
During her opening address, Crown prosecutor Charisse Hodgeman said the woman and Mr Milner were in the alleyway behind Finnegan's Hotel late on the night of November 25, 2022 when the woman claims she was sexually assaulted.
"She will describe feeling the accused's hands touching her genitalia," Ms Hodgeman said. "She will tell you that when the accused was doing this to her, that is something she did not want to happen. "She struggled and tried to get away from the accused and she repeatedly yelled out "stop". "I expect you will hear that the accused then grabbed her around the throat with one of his hands and pushed her head up against the wall with some force. She had trouble breathing and she tried to yell, but she couldn't."
Ms Hodgeman said the woman managed to wrestle free and ran through the alleyway before staff from Foghorn Brewery came to her aid.
She said the jury would see CCTV footage showing the woman emerging from the alleyway, followed by Mr Milner.
Ms Hodgeman told the jury the woman was crying and yelling, something to the effect of, "get away from me, stay away from me", while Mr Milner replied something similar to: "Hey, we were both kissing. We both wanted that."
The woman contacted a number of her friends and told one: "someone tried to attack me and rape me down an alleyway. I had to fight them off and kick them."
During her opening address, defence barrister Margaret Cunneen, SC, told the jury the defence case was "quite a different version of events" and said there was no sexual assault.
She said the woman had engaged Mr Milner in conversation as he walked along King Street and asked if she could borrow his shirt.
"Directly before that, as you'll see on CCTV, she had been refused entry to Finnegan's about six times by three different security guards and she'd been there trying to get in for 25 minutes," Ms Cunneen said. "The complainant continued to try to find a way into the premises and headed to the back, collecting Mr Milner on the way."
Ms Cunneen said the woman thought she was at the rear of Finnegan's and tried to get in through a back door, the pair climbing over a fence and "bobbing down when they heard people coming".
She said there was "some mutual kissing" in the alleyway, but there was no contact that wasn't "entirely agreed upon" during the few short minutes they were together.
Ms Cunneen said it was the defence case that when people came out of a nearby venue, the woman made up a false complaint about being sexually assaulted to avoid getting into trouble for trying to sneak into the hotel.
The trial continues.
