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Allegations of Abuse
in NZ |
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Tea Ropati - League Star accused
of rape |
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NZ Herald
Two female patrons of Auckland's
Whiskey Bar have described feeling uneasy about the behaviour of former
league star Tea Ropati the night he allegedly sexually violated and raped a
woman. "I didn't like his vibe, so I
went inside," one woman said of an encounter with the former Warriors
player outside the Ponsonby Rd watering hole. He looked "particularly
scruffy" and was wearing a beanie, she told an Auckland District Court
jury yesterday. Ropati, 42, is denying six counts
of sexual violation, including charges of rape and sodomy stemming from a
June 15, 2006, incident. It is alleged he attempted to
sexually violate a woman in a back room at the Whiskey Bar, before taking her
in his car to nearby Victoria Park where the rape took place. The second of the two witnesses -
both of whom had been drinking with Ropati's alleged victim, and have name
suppression - said she felt uneasy around Ropati, despite having met him
previously. "I felt like he was a little
bit on the prowl ... just body language, really." Bar security footage played to the
court appears to show Ropati attempting to perform a sex act on a woman, who
seems, at times, to be semi-conscious. His alleged victim - whose name is
also suppressed - yesterday said she had no memory of what happened in the
back room but had later seen security footage. The woman - who had been drinking
at the bar with friends - also claimed "no memory whatsoever" of
going to Victoria Park with Ropati, and said she had wanted no sexual contact
with him. However, she also admitted to prosecutor Phil Hamlin to having
snorted "a line" of cocaine earlier in the evening, and spent the
night drinking wine and vodka. Later, under cross examination by
Ropati's lawyer, Gary Gotleib, she described herself as "functioning but
drunk", with an alcohol level equivalent to having consumed 3.5 bottles
of wine. However, she rejected a suggestion
by Mr Gotleib that her memory loss was indicative of a drinking problem. The trial is set down for eight
days. |
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