Abduction trial complainant denies changing story

Rotorua courthouse.

A gun was pulled on her when her father and cousins arrived at the Rotorua house where she was being held, a teenager at the centre of an abduction trial has testified.

This was after she'd attempted to climb out a window but her leg had become stuck.

The teen was giving evidence via video link in the Rotorua District Court against a man who has pleaded not guilty to one count of abduction, three of sexual connection and seven burglary charges.

Two sex charges are representative meaning they happened more than once.

The defendant's name is suppressed at least until the end of the trial.

The teen described today how she'd found a cell phone on a charger in the Rotorua house, using it to text her mother and sister asking them to call police.

She had also attempted to use cell phones the defendant stole from "rich people's houses" to check her Facebook page but he'd smashed them, accusing her of attempting to contact her parents.

Her attempt to jump out the window came when she heard her cousins' and father's voices outside.

"I turned around, someone was holding a gun saying 'you are not going anywhere'."

After the would-be rescuers left, the teen said the defendant took her out of the city telling her not to think of trying to escape because he would find her.

She told the jury when she'd said she wanted to go home the defendant told her if she did she would never see her family again.

She had not run off because he didn't know if the defendant would come after her and beat her.

Eventually the defendant's car had become stuck in mud, police arrived while he was attempting to free it.

"He grabbed me by the hair, said we are going to run through the paddocks, I said 'no, it is finished they have found me. . . he said 'you're not going to tell the police what happened, you're not going to tell them nothing. He said if I gave evidence when he came out he would kill me; I was just happy to finally be going home, I didn't care."

Challenged by the defendant's lawyer Bill Nabney that she had given different accounts of events to a police interviewer and the jury the complainant became upset and angry.

"I am not lying to anyone . . . man, do you think I remember every detail," she said.

She agreed that when the defendant's sister said the police were at her home looking for the defendant she'd run off with him rather than calling out for help.

Counsel: The reason you did that is because you wanted to be with him?

Complainant: No.

Questioned about the night her father and relatives arrived at the Rotorua house, she claimed to have been held at against her will the teenager agreed she'd not called out or gone out to them.

She hotly denied making up her claim she'd been confronted by a man with a gun.

The trial is continuing before Judge Maree MacKenzie and a jury of 11 women and one man.