During cross-examination, several inconsistencies in the complainant’s police statements, which were given 13 years apart in 2002 and 2015, were pointed out by defence counsel.
Ian Lee Pryor and Anthony John Quant (both 51) are both accused of raping the woman. Mr Pryor is also accused of a second count of rape and Mr Quant a charge of indecent assault. They both deny the charges.
Advocate Luke Sette, defending Mr Prior, put it to the complainant that she was lying about her allegations.
The woman, who told the jury that she suffered from PTSD after the alleged incident, replied: ‘I would not put my family through a lifetime of trauma. I would not bring my mother to a courtroom to give evidence on a lie.’
Through his questioning, Advocate Sette pointed to a number of inconsistencies in police statements given by the woman regarding her actions and what she saw before, during and after the alleged crimes.
In one example, the lawyer said that in one statement the complainant claimed she woke up with her trousers off after the alleged assaults but in another it appeared she had said only her boots were off.
Addressing the inconsistencies in the statements, the woman told jurors that she had been raped by two men and suggested it would be almost impossible to include ‘every detail in one piece of paper’.
She said that due to PTSD and a ‘mental breakdown’ her memories in 2002 were not ‘sequential’.
‘I was only only able to give in 2002 what I was physically and mentally able to process at that time,’ she said, adding: ‘I did not say anything that is untrue in the statements. They go together to make the full statement.’
Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith is presiding. Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood is appearing for the prosecution.
The trial, which is scheduled to last a maximum of five days, continues.
