WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault and may be upsetting to some readers.
A teenage girl’s midnight ride to smoke cannabis turned sinister when she was allegedly locked in the car and raped.
“He had his hand on the doorlock of the car and that’s when I knew something bad was going to happen to me,” the court heard in an alleged rape trial that has begun in the Whangārei District Court.
Tairone Walker, 24, is on trial before Judge Peter Davey for one charge of sexual violation by rape and one charge of kidnapping following an incident that allegedly occurred in Kerikeri in September 2020.
The Crown opened its case to the jury on Monday saying Walker was in Kaikohe and received a message from the complainant looking for cannabis.
But, instead of delivering the cannabis, Walker allegedly told the teen he would pick her and her friend up.
“Can I just come pick you up please and we will go for a stonie down landie, bring your bing [bong] as well,” the text message allegedly said.
The Crown said when the young women were picked up they consumed cannabis and Walker allegedly began making comments about their bodies and that they were “sexy”.
One of the young women became uncomfortable and requested to be dropped off, which Walker did.
The complainant also says she asked to be dropped off and said in an evidential interview played to the jury that she became scared when he took a wrong turn.
“I asked him to drop me off home and he said ‘No’.
“When he went the wrong way, that’s when I started getting scared cos I knew he wasn’t dropping me off home,” she said.
Walker allegedly drove the car to Landing Rd and parked near Rewa’s Village and locked the doors.
“He had his hand on the doorlock of the car and that’s when I knew something bad was going to happen to me,” she said.
“He knew I was scared.”
Crown lawyer Geraldine Kelly told the jury it was this act that forms the basis of the kidnap charge.
“Because he did this, he is charged with detaining [name] in that car and confining her. That is a form of kidnapping,” Kelly said to the jury.
Walker then allegedly climbed on top of the complainant seated in the passenger seat and a struggle ensued with her pants before he allegedly raped her.
“I was screaming and it was like he was getting off at me scared and he knew I was scared but he carried on and carried on,” she said.
Despite telling him it was hurting, Walker allegedly continued and when he got back in the driver’s seat allegedly said: “Don’t tell anyone I raped you”.
In defence opening statements to the jury, Jarred Scott said his client was never with the young women.
“He did not unlawfully detain her, he did not penetrate her, he did not take her to Rewa’s Village, he did not sit in the car, have this session with her or her friend.
“Those things did not happen, instead Walker spent that night at home with his partner – these things did not happen."
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
The child has made a recovery and has been discharged from hospital.