Barristers for an ADFA cadet charged with raping a fellow cadet have sought to cast the relationship between the woman and the accused as a burgeoning romance that "jumped a few steps" as a result of lowered inhibitions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The woman spent a gruelling four hours on her second day giving evidence from a remote witness room and answering a barrage of questions on cross-examination.
She was challenged on her level of intoxication at notorious Canberra nightspot Mooseheads around midnight on May 28, 2016, the morning it's alleged Jack Toby Mitchell, 19, raped her in his room at the ADFA campus.
The woman, who was 18, told the court on Tuesday she woke to Mr Mitchell having sex with her after sharing a taxi back to their quarters, and though she had tried to push him away and said she was hurting he had continued.
Mr Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to the sole count of rape on the indictment, and he says the sex was consensual.
Barristers pointed to the woman's seemingly coordinated movements around the club in nearly two hours of surveillance footage presented to the jury on Wednesday, and text messages sent with no spelling mistakes, in an effort to cast doubt on the Crown's contentions she was too drunk to consent.
The defence then turned to a kiss the pair shared at the top of Mt Pleasant after a run the evening before, on May 26, and a visit to his room later that night. The woman, whose name is suppressed, admitted the kiss and said she remembered going to his room, after stealing away from a girl's dinner upstairs to go see him, but she said she did not remember kissing him again.
The barrister read out a text message from the woman to Mr Mitchell from later that night that said: "I like where this is heading and I think you're a really nice guy but we need to pause for a bit because I just got out of a serious relationship and I need some time."
She denied that message meant she wanted a relationship with Mr Mitchell and said she felt embarrassed by the kiss on Mt Pleasant and that she'd made a mistake.
She denied ever being attracted to Mr Mitchell. She also denied defence barrister Steven Whybrow's suggestions the reason she was embarrassed was because she had only earlier that month broken up with her high school sweetheart, and she didn't want to be seen in a new relationship so soon.
The defence pored over hundreds of messages between the woman and Mr Mitchell, messages which had been colour-coded and printed out on stacks of paper.
Mr Whybrow read out one reply from Mr Mitchell to the woman's message that night: "I'm happy to take a bit of time, you're worth it."
"He really liked you didn't he?" Mr Whybrow asked.
"And the next night you had a few drinks and jumped a few steps in this relationship building, and decided to have sex with him, didn't you?"
"No," came the woman's answer as she choked back tears.
"And then like kissing you felt bad about it and you regret it in the morning?"
"No."
"And you were okay with it apart from your own guilt until [another cadet] said to you that was wrong. Correct?"
"No."
The court was forced to adjourn for the woman, who gave evidence via audio-visual link, to regain her composure.
On her return, Mr Whybrow read out to court a message from Mr Mitchell which read: "I promise to be the absolute best guy for you ... I will never let you down."
He suggested that was a "lovely message", but the woman disagreed and said Mr Mitchell did not mean what he said.
She said she did not know what Mr Mitchell had meant when he had said he was happy to wait for her, and denied suggestions he was waiting for a relationship.
The trial continues.
