A Napier man charged with more than two years of sexual, violent and threatening abuse of his girlfriend claims she dominated the relationship and was the "intimidator" and sex "experimenter", a High Court jury has been told.
The challenge came as 20-year-old Timothy James Hebberley went on trial today denying 29 charges including rape and allegations that amid a range of assaults and sexual violation he burnt her with a wire branding implement, a lighter, and hot wax, dislocated her limbs and detained her in a laundry at their flat with a dangerous dog.
In an opening statement, defence counsel Scott Jefferson told Justice Helen Cull and a jury of seven women and five men they would be faced with "extremely confronting material" involving people who would mainly have led a completely different lifestyle than those on the panel might ever have seen.
Mr Jefferson said the man was "5ft 8in in the old parlance" - a height of 1.73m which compared with the complainant's estimated height of about 1.85m.
The lawyer said that in a trial Justice Cull estimated would take at least until Tuesday next week, the jury should keep an open mind about all the charges, and the defence will be that it was she who intimidated the accused.