A sadomasochist accused of violently raping his lover thought her pleas to stop and cries of pain were "pillow talk", his lawyer has told a Sydney court.
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Leigh James Pattinson has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of rape causing actually bodily harm over the alleged assault in 2019.
In opening her case before the judge-alone trial in the Parramatta District Court on Monday, the crown prosecutor said what started as consensual sex descended into rape.
The alleged victim and Pattinson had known each other for seven years, and had been in a rough sexual relationship for more than three years before the night in question.
Pattinson enjoyed being dominant and the complainant enjoyed being submissive, she said, but throughout 2018 and 2019 his requests became increasingly derogatory and violent.
The pair had set a safe word - Leigh, the accused's name - but the prosecutor said the complainant would give evidence that when asked to stop during previous trysts, Pattinson had done so without her needing to say it.
But on August 28, 2019, the complainant's multiple demands he stop were ignored, the prosecutor said.
Pattinson continued to have sex with the woman, who was at one point "choked out", regaining consciousness to find her couch and legs covered in blood.
Throughout the interaction the woman cried and repeatedly yelled "stop" and "ow", and at different points she tried to push herself away from Pattinson and attempted to resist the sex acts, the prosecutor alleged.
He was so rough she wasn't able to breathe and vomited on herself, the prosecutor said, before she said: "Leigh, enough".
He allegedly responded, saying "Well maybe you have had enough".
The ordeal was so violent the woman told friends there was a dent in her wall and she believed she had a punctured cervix, the prosecutor said.
Days later the woman went to the hospital, presenting with bruising on her thighs, genitals, neck and breasts, and bleeding in her eye caused by a burst blood vessel.
Pattinson's lawyer said the pair's relationship was not "vanilla" and was founded on bondage and sadomasochism.
While the elements of the night may seem "amoral" to some, the pair had negotiated and agreed on what was to take place.
"In such relationships there's a degree of role playing ... words such as 'ow', 'stop', 'you're hurting me' could all be seen as pillow talk," he said.
The defence lawyer conceded the bulk of what the Crown alleges took place, but the main issue for the judge to consider was the use of the safe word.
"Even on the complainant's case, the safe word was never used until the end," he said.
"It is irrelevant whether she said 'stop', 'ow', 'you're hurting me'.
"The safe word was Leigh."
The trial continues.
Australian Associated Press
