A Canberra man accused of raping a woman he met outside Cube nightclub in Civic says the pair had consensual sex when they returned to his flat that morning.
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It's alleged Kerry Roy Bye, 25, took the woman, then 19, in a taxi back to his Cook unit early on Friday, November 13, 2015, where he allegedly raped her, choked her and pulled her hair.
On Monday, Bye told the court he had approached the woman after he saw her dry retching into the bushes outside the nightclub.
He had offered her money for a taxi, and asked if she needed help. He said the woman had said she was fine.
Bye said they talked about what they were doing for the rest of the night, and he had mentioned people might be coming back to his place.
He said she had asked if she could join.
Bye said he was about an 8 out of 10 level of intoxication, with 10 being unconscious, when they left, and she was "definitely intoxicated", rating her at a 6 to 8 on the scale.
Once back at the unit, Bye said the pair kissed and touched each other on the couch before moving to the bedroom.
Was she asleep at any point? Bye's defence barrister Ken Archer asked.
"No," Bye replied.
"Are you sure about that?" – "Positive."
Bye also denied that he had choked her or hit her, but conceded he had pulled her hair.
He said they were interrupted by a friend who returned to the unit and knocked on the door.
Bye said he had left the bedroom to let his friend into the unit, and when he went back into the bedroom the woman had tried to hit him with a drawer, and then ran naked from the unit and climbed a brick wall.
"You must've been pretty shocked by all this?" prosecutor Jane Campbell asked Bye.
"Surprised," he replied.
"In a couple of seconds she's gone from having sex with you to running out the door?" – "Yes."
He said he did not follow her past his courtyard to see if she was okay because he only had a towel on, and his friend was "sorting it out".
His friend had returned the woman's clothes to her after she had run from the unit, he said.
Earlier, the court saw footage of Bye entering a police station to talk to officers about the incident. He said he had gone of his own accord to speak to them later that same day, and told them his name and address.
Bye is charged with four counts of rape, two of sexual assault in the second degree, one count of committing an indecent act and one of unlawful confinement.
On Monday, the jury was directed by Justice John Burns to return a verdict of not guilty on the indecent act, of which there was no evidence.
The trial continues.
