Taranaki businessman on trial for multiple sex attacks amid Covid opposition

A Taranaki businessman is on trial for allegedly raping a woman on a number of occasions. Photo / Stock Image

WARNING: This story discusses rape and sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers.

A businessman experienced a switch in personality after stopping his medication and becoming obsessed with opposing the Government’s Covid-19 mandates.

He became “arrogant and disrespectful” and his behaviour grew “crazy”. Soon after, as his deterioration continued, he launched a series of sex attacks on a woman.

At least, that’s what the Crown alleges in the trial of the Taranaki man, who has interim name suppression as he defends seven counts of indecent assault, four of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, three of sexual violation by rape and one of attempted sexual violation.

On Monday, on the first day of the trial in the New Plymouth District Court, Crown prosecutor Rebekah Hicklin told the jury the alleged offending occurred between November 1, 2021, and January 25, 2022.

It was shortly after the Government announced its Covid-19 workplace vaccination legislation in late October, and the defendant developed a strong opposition to the mandates.

Hicklin said he became “caught up” in the anti-mandate protests, sinking much of his time and money in to the cause.

The man is on trial in New Plymouth District Court. Photo / Tara Shaskey

“Around the same time he stopped taking his pain medication for his back injury and his personality changed,” Hicklin said.

The man became controlling towards a woman he knew and, on multiple occasions, he sexually assaulted and raped her, Hicklin alleged.

The complainant would allegedly try to push the man away, tell him “no”, “stop it” and that she was in pain. But Hicklin claimed he acted with force and ignored the woman’s pleas.

She told the jury the complainant was honest and sincere and said the Crown evidence should result in guilty verdicts on all charges.

But in his opening address to the jury, defence lawyer Nathan Bourke said his client was not a “Covid-crazed monster” who had repeatedly raped the woman.

Bourke said sexual activity occurred between the two but on every occasion it was consensual.

It was “completely denied” that the man forced himself on the woman and that she had tried to fight him off.

The complainant had been “egged on” by others in her complaints to police and her initial “vague” allegations had snowballed, Bourke claimed.

He reminded the jury that the man was not on trial for his views on the Covid-19 vaccination but rather serious sexual offending.

“And he is innocent.”

Following the openings, the complainant was the first of the Crown’s 10 witnesses called to give evidence.

While on the stand, her police interview was played to the jury.

In it, the woman said at the peak of the pandemic, he became deeply involved in the anti-mandate protests and described him as growing “crazy”.

He became “arrogant and disrespectful”, she said.

The man threatened her, followed her and made demands of her, the woman said in her interview.

The trial is set down for four days and will continue tomorrow.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.