Tooth puller claims there was consent

The victim alleged that she was held against the door, before Hansen removed six of her bottom teeth with a pair of pliers, and threw them outside the car window. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The man who tore women's teeth out with pliers while he was having sex with them believed there was consent and thought he was helping and not hurting them, a court was told today.

The defence and prosecution wrapped up their closings in the jury trial against Philip Lyle Hansen in the Wellington District Court today.

Hansen is facing 10 charges, including assault and sex charges that also included rape.

One charge of male assaults female has been dismissed by Judge Bruce Davidson.

The charges span over a period of more than 20 years from 1988 to 2011. The offending allegedly happened at various locations in the Hutt Valley area in Wellington.

Defence lawyer Mike Antunovic told the jury of nine men and three women that the Crown's case rested wholly on the word of the four women complainants and there were no independent witnesses to back up the allegations.

All women had gone to police within a week of each other and had met up earlier, Mr Antunovic said.

At that meeting there could have been anger, regret or resentment felt towards Hansen, he said.

"Perhaps some sort of exaggeration began to creep in."

Hansen believed he had the consent of the women to remove their teeth, he said.

"He wanted to help, not to hurt."

If consent was regretted later, then a crime had not been committed, Mr Antunovic said.

Mr Antunovic pointed to evidence from another complainant, who had four lower front teeth pulled out by Hansen in December 2005.

In a police statement, she said that she could not believe that she let Hansen do that to her, he said.

He told the jury it would be wrong to find his client guilty "just because you don't like him".

They needed to give him a fair hearing, he said.

Prosecuting lawyer Sally Carter told the jury that each of the complainants said Hansen would stop the women from contacting their families.

"If you understand the pattern of behaviour, then you can understand how this brutal technique of pulling out teeth occurred."

Ms Carter also said a pair of pliers was found in Hansen's bedside table with DNA and blood from one of the complainants.

Hansen's computer showed there were 619 search records relevant to the topic of pulling teeth, including searches for "gummy ladies" and "fat gummy ladies", as well as pictures and videos of teeth being pulled out.

The relationship Hansen had with the women complainants has been suppressed.

Judge Davidson will sum up the trial tomorrow morning before the jury begins its deliberation.