An artist accused of sexually assaulting a young girl told police he had nothing to hide and described the allegations as "off this world".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Vytas Kapociunas, 71, found police waiting for him at the bottom of escalators at Canberra Airport after he flew home with his wife Jane Hardy, then Australia's ambassador to Spain.
The pair had returned to Australia after being told a young girl had accused Kapociunas of sexually assaulting her three times in one day at his Spanish home.
Kapociunas was charged and is currently on trial in the ACT Supreme Court.
On Thursday, a recording of the police interview with Kapociunas was played to the jury.
From the outset, Kapociunas strenuously denied the allegations, describing them as "completely false".
"I have nothing to hide and these allegations are completely off this world," he said.
He told police of an incident in which he was with the girl in a bedroom while he closed window shutters.
Kapociunas said she remarked that she liked the room because it was quiet. He said he joked it wasn't always quiet and tickled her.
Kapociunas told police the child's stomach became exposed and he blew a raspberry near her belly button.
"She said, 'Oh that's wet'," he told detectives.
Kapociunas said he said "Sorry", then: "I said, 'But imagine if you were a cat and you had to lick yourself all over,' and she laughed about that."
He told police he then said:
"You're so cute that you look good enough to eat."
Later in the interview, Kapociunas broke down and said he could not understand why the child would accuse him of sexually assaulting her.
"Why would a little girl make up a story [like that]?" he said.
"I keep racking my brains to think what did I do to ..."
The interview was then suspended. He later told detectives of an occasion when the girl had kissed him on the lips as he said goodbye to her and her family.
"And I thought, 'What a sweet little girl', and didn't think anything of it."
Kapociunas repeatedly denied the allegations to police and said he did not know why she would say such things.
"I'm still flabbergasted by the allegations and I'm still completely unable to understand how a little kid could come up with something like that," he said.
Kapociunas was arrested and charged following the interview.
The trial continues in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday before Chief Justice Helen Murrell.
