Man accused of sexual attack on wife

A Masterton man is on trial in Wellington on charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, assault with intent to commit sexual violation, and assault.

The trial of a Masterton man charged with sexually violating his wife started in Wellington District Court on Monday.

The man is facing three charges, sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, assault with intent to commit sexual violation, and assault.

The offending was said to have occurred in May 2012, in Masterton.

Crown prosecutor Sally Carter said that on May 11, 2012, a physical confrontation between the man and woman took place and he assaulted her. Two days he assaulted her again, this time in the bedroom.

On May 13, said Ms Carter, the woman had returned home, after shopping with the couple's son, and went into the bedroom.

The defendant was lying on the bed with his eyes closed and appeared to be asleep.

The woman went into her closet to try on some clothes and he grabbed her from behind, she pushed him off telling him not to touch her and he threw her onto the bed while saying he wanted to have sex with her.

He held one arm around her neck, making it difficult for the woman to breathe, while he tried to undress her and told her not to scream.

After he sexually violated her she managed to kick him off and grabbed a cup and hit him over the head with it.

Defence lawyer Jock Blathwayt said the man had been sleeping in the bedroom when the woman came in and attacked him, leaving him scratched and bleeding profusely from a cut on his head. Police and an ambulance were called and in order to explain what had happened, so she did not get into trouble, the woman invented the assaults and the alleged attack on her in terms of sexual violation, Mr Blathwayt said. "They [the assaults] were invented by the complainant and the true victim of what happened is [him]," he said.