A WOMAN who alleges she was raped by a man she met on Facebook did not report the incident to the police immediately because she did not think she would be believed, the Royal Court heard yesterday.
The alleged victim made the claim while giving evidence on the second day of Luis Filipe Algarvio Pestana’s trial.
Mr Pestana (40) is accused of rape and sexual penetration without consent. He denies both charges.
On the first day of the trial, the woman described how she had arranged to meet Mr Pestana in town last year after exchanging numerous friendly and flirtatious messages on Facebook.
They went back to the woman’s house and consensual sex took place, but she said he later attempted a sex act that she objected to and that when she pushed him away he became aggressive, leaving her bruised and in pain.
Yesterday, she told the court: ‘At that moment in time I was confused. I wasn’t sure I would be believed because I had taken him back to mine and consented to sex.
‘I thought it was my fault for trusting someone so quickly and bringing him back to my place.’
And she said she expected the police to be dismissive of her claims, adding: ‘I didn’t believe it would help.
‘I thought they’d tell me it was a drunken mistake and I should move on from it.’
It was only a week later, when she broke down in tears, that she decided to contact the police.
Advocate Rebecca Morley-Kirk, defending, said: ‘Mr Pestana would say that you didn’t say “no” at any time.’
The alleged victim replied: ‘I said: “You’re hurting me. Stop. You need to stop. I can’t”.’
The advocate added: ‘He accepts that it got a little rough, a little intense, but Mr Pestana said that nothing happened that wasn’t consensual.’
The woman said: ‘A lot happened that wasn’t consensual.’
The advocate asked why she had not screamed or shouted, with the woman replying: ‘I could barely talk, let alone shout.’
The trial is expected to last two more days.
