Woman in threesome beaten up, court told

When a well-known Northland identity returned home to find a woman in his bed with another couple he allegedly head-butted her in the face, beat her until she was unconscious and later kicked her in the back causing a fracture.

The man, who has name suppression, appeared for the first day of a trial in the Whangarei District Court yesterday where he faces charges including sexual violation, threatening to kill and assaulting a female.

Crown prosecutor Peter Magee said that in January last year the man held a barbecue at his home, inviting a married couple.

After a lengthy period of drinking the married couple decided to stay the night and the man went off to another party, leaving them at his house with the other woman.

Mr Magee said the defendant found her topless in bed with the couple on his return.

He yelled "nobody does this to me," Mr Magee said, before grabbing the woman by the hair, head-butting her in the face and beating her until she was unconscious.

The Crown says he also pulled down her pants and sexually violated her, accusing her of having a relationship with the married man.

Defence counsel John Haigh QC told Judge Michael Lance the woman was actually in bed with the couple because they were all having a sexual experience, a threesome.

"The complainant, for whatever reason, has set out to destroy this man with the able assistance of [the couple] that she was found in bed with," Mr Haigh said.

In his opening address to the jury, Mr Magee said the man had subjected the woman to escalating psychological and physical abuse, which started the day before she was due to have surgery for breast cancer in February 2004.

The man struck her in the breast and punched her in the face so hard he broke his hand.

The woman was trying to relax before the operation by listening to music when the accused told her to turn it down, he said.

Thinking he was joking, she laughed and he pushed her on her cancerous breast, causing her to fall to the ground.

She got up and slapped him. Mr Magee said he grabbed her by the throat, choking her before dropping her and leaving.

Mr Magee said she followed him and he then grabbed her by the legs and hair and punched her.

"She'll describe hearing a crack," Mr Magee said.

The man is then alleged to have rubbed her head into the floor and kneeled on her chest, bouncing up and down.

He received hospital treatment for a broken hand.

The woman had her surgery the following day.

Mr Haigh said the man's defence was that all the allegations were false.

"They constitute a stream of lies developed by the complainant."

He said there was an incident in which the man broke his hand but the defence's account of what happened would be different.

"This will come down to a question of credibility, who you believe and what you believe."

The jury will be taken to the man's home today to see where alleged assaults are said to have occurred.

Yesterday the four-man, eight-woman jury was repeatedly told not to discuss the case or the man's identity outside of the court.

His name suppression would remain in place until the outcome of the trial or possibly longer, Judge Lance said yesterday.