Wiria Mohamadi defends charges of rape and abduction in Christchurch District Court

The complainant said she had multiple drinks at several venues with friends before being allegedly raped by Wiria Mohamadi. Photo / 123rf

• Wiria Mohamadi is facing charges of abduction, rape, and unlawful sexual connection.
• The complainant alleges Mohamadi picked her up and sexually assaulted her after a night of drinking.
• Mohamadi claims the sex was consensual, while the prosecution argues she was in no state to consent.

WARNING: This story contains allegations of rape and sexual assault.

A young, intoxicated woman was out with friends in the early hours of the morning when a stranger offered her a ride home.

While she declined and was later put in an Uber by a friend, the stranger followed her in his car, picked her up from the roadside and took her to his place, where they had sex.

That stranger, Wiria Mohamadi, doesn’t deny following her and picking her up, but he does deny the sex was not consensual, which the woman alleges.

One evening in July 2023, the woman was out late with friends when she hit her head while being ejected from a bar following hours of heavy drinking.

While she struggles to recall all of what happened next, she claims to have been sexually assaulted by Mohamadi at his home.

Mohamadi is now defending charges of abduction for sexual connection, rape and unlawful sexual connection before a jury of eight men and four women in the Christchurch District Court.

The trial is being held in the Christchurch District Court. Photo / Herald

In her opening address yesterday, Crown prosecutor Leandra Fiennes said the woman went to numerous bars on the evening of the alleged incident.

She had consumed a mix of alcoholic drinks when things started to become blurry.

The complainant was kicked out of a bar, and, at this point, Mohamadi made a couple of attempts to speak to her.

However, she repeatedly tried to re-enter in an attempt to search for her bag and became increasingly frustrated as she continued to be removed from the bar.

During the chaos, the woman fell and hit her head on the pavement.

Fiennes said that was the last memory the complainant had of the night.

She alleged Mohamadi had appeared in a car around this time and watched the woman’s interactions.

He walked up to her twice and attempted to interact with the woman, Fiennes said.

CCTV footage would then show him getting back into his car and allegedly following the woman’s Uber, she said.

For almost 10 minutes, he allegedly tailed the Uber. She claimed that when the vehicle stopped and the complainant got out, he picked her up and took her to his house.

“She will only recall snippets and liken it to a jigsaw. Her first memory is lying down on his bed and having sex. She recalls saying she didn’t want to and that she wasn’t in the mood.”

Fiennes alleged the complainant was not consenting, nor was she in a fit state to consent.

In defence lawyer Arabella Jarman’s opening address, she said Mohamadi denied abducting the woman and believed she had consented to sex. Jarman claimed the facts the Crown presented were not the full story and urged the jury not to jump to a decision.

Following the openings, a video of the complainant’s interview with police was played to the jury.

She spoke about hitting her head outside the bar.

“The concussion I suffered was quite severe. I don’t have a chunk of time; the next memory I have is being naked in a bed with somebody I didn’t know. My brain was so scattered. I was lying flat with no clothes on, and he had no clothes on.

“I know we were having sex, and something happened, and I rolled away from them, saying ‘I don’t want to’.”

Crown prosecutor Sean Mallett then questioned the complainant, asking her why she had let Mohamadi drive her home after waking at his house.

She said she just wanted to get home, didn’t know how to get home, didn’t know where she was and didn’t think she had any other option.

When questioned about the sexual interaction, she said that, at one point, she had told Mohamadi to wear a condom.

She said she was in “auto pilot, in an auto pilot state”.

“I wouldn’t have been comfortable with unprotected sex. I remember being in a lot of pain.

“I was trying to say ‘no’ in different ways. I didn’t really understand what was going on.”

During the cross-examination of the complainant, defence lawyer Kerryn Beaton, KC, asked the complainant at what point she had a clear, uninterrupted memory.

The complainant said it was difficult to say as her head knock had been so bad, she’d had a concussion for six months.

“I think it’s impossible to know but I think I was unconscious.”

The complainant said she had suffered extreme nausea, headaches and had difficulties facing work for a long time after the incident.

“I am not sure whether I lost consciousness. I remember hitting my head, opening my eyes and seeing the concrete.”

Beaton will continue to cross-examine the complainant as the trial continues today before Judge Michael Crosbie.

Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the HC Post, based in Whangamata. He was previously deputy editor of Cook Islands News.