A 28-YEAR-OLD man accused of raping a woman four times allegedly ‘carved’ into her body with a needle – and threatened to kill her family if she reported him to the authorities – the Royal Court has been told.
David Sullivan was also said to have sat in a tree outside her house watching her.
The alleged victim yesterday gave evidence on the second day of Mr Sullivan’s trial. He denies all four counts of rape.
Speaking from behind a screen, the woman said he had ‘carved’ her ‘with a piercing needle’. She added: ‘He said he would go for my family, that he would bring people’s heads on a plate.’
And she alleged that Mr Sullivan would sit for long periods in a tree near her house, saying that this left her feeling trapped in her home.
Answering questions from Crown Advocate Simon Thomas, prosecuting, the alleged victim said the rapes had involved Mr Sullivan starting to have sex with her while she was asleep and the committing of a sex act against her will.
She told the court that she ‘felt trapped and embarrassed’.
She eventually went to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre, where bruises, scratches and injuries were discovered, some of which she said she had sustained when Mr Sullivan had pinned her down.
The woman was interviewed at the centre by the States police.
‘I was relieved but scared and nervous,’ she said.
The alleged victim admitted that she and Mr Sullivan, who she met online, had had consensual sex that was sometimes rough.
Cross-examining the alleged victim, Advocate Sarah Dale, defending, said: ‘There was never a time when Mr Sullivan had sex with you when you were asleep. That’s right, isn’t it?’
The woman replied: ‘No, it’s not. It’s not OK, when someone’s asleep, to do that to them.’
Commissioner Sir John Saunders was presiding. The trial is expected to last for another three days.
