Woman at centre of assault case: 'I thought he was a friend and he took advantage of me'

A man is on trial at the Auckland District court for allegedly indecently assaulting a disabled woman. Photo/File

A teacher allegedly took advantage of a disabled woman before telling her "no one needs to know about this", a jury has heard.

Lagos Juan Carlos Briones is on trial at the Auckland District Court. The 56-year-old teacher denied one charge of indecent assault.

In her opening statement, Crown prosecutor Erin Woolley told the jury the 64-year-old complainant lived in a Housing New Zealand complex and needed a daily carer to help her cook, clean and take her medications.

One of the woman's favourite things to do was sit out the front of her apartment and chat to people as they went past.

That was how she met Briones, someone she considered to be her friend, Woolley said.

One of her other favourite hobbies was listening to music.

On the morning of Auckland Anniversary Day last year, Briones took a CD to the woman's house and she invited him in for a coffee so they could enjoy it together.

Shortly after he was inside, he allegedly told her to sit in her La-Z-Boy rocker armchair and moved her walker out of reach and touched her breasts.

The woman didn't offer verbal resistance because she "just froze" as she wasn't expecting it to happen to her, Woolley told the jurors.

The jury this afternoon watched a video of the woman's specialist police interview when she detailed the alleged offending.

At one point during the interview after she was asked why she helped him take her dress off, she broke down saying: "It's not my fault".

The woman said she was unhappy with what happened but because she hadn't had her medication yet and her mind "wasn't there at the time".

"I thought he was a friend and he took advantage of me."

After rubbing her on her rocking chair, Briones allegedly then led her to her bedroom.

There they lay on the bed together and kissed before he sucked her breasts and rubbed her genital area, the prosecutor said.

"He then told her, 'No one needs to know about this'."

To make him stop, the woman told him she was bleeding and her sister was coming over shortly.

"I only said that to get him off me," the woman said in her interview.

Woolley told the jurors in New Zealand consent had to be given in a "positive way" and not by the absence of verbal objections.

"He took advantage of her."

Defence lawyer Michael Meyrick asked the jurors to "keep an open mind" until the end of the trial because "there are a few twists and turns to it".

"This is always a difficult sort of situation, perhaps especially for a man."

Meyrick said in "these situations it isn't possible to prove you're innocent".

"So you've got to be very careful the evidence shows guilt before you come to your conclusion."

Judge Brooke Gibson also instructed the 12 jurors to keep an open mind until the whole case had been heard.

The trial is set down for a week.