KEY POINTS:
A father of three has been charged with raping two young English tourists in a hotel room after a night out drinking in an Auckland bar - the latest in a string of alleged sex attacks on international visitors.
The man, who has name suppression, has pleaded not
guilty to twin charges of sexually assaulting the British backpackers, aged 21 and 22, but his lawyer conceded the police had a prima facie case. The 36-year-old man has been released on bail to his parents' West Auckland address.
The Herald on Sunday can only reveal details of the case after previous blanket suppression was lifted in Auckland District Court this week.
Detectives have described the case as unusual because the girls were allegedly raped one after another in their hotel room, raising suspicions of stupefaction, or drink spiking.
However, toxicology reports came back free of any traces of drugs, although high levels of alcohol were detected in their blood samples.
The Birmingham women were on holiday and had been in the country only a few days when they met the man in Fordes Front Bench, the sixth-floor bar of the Auckland City Hotel in Parnell. According to the police summary of facts handed to the district court, the two girls had ordered two glasses of white wine and struck up a conversation with the barman during an evening in mid-September.
According to the summary of facts, the accused, who did know the girls, joined them in the bar and later invited them to drink with him in the city. They declined, say police.
Four hours later one of the women fell ill while playing pool, according to the summary of facts. Slumped against the bar unconscious and vomiting violently, she was helped back to her room by her friend and the barman.
The summary of facts said she remembered nothing for the rest of the night until waking up hours later to allegedly find someone having sex with her. Her friend kept drinking downstairs in the bar and only had vague recollections of the rest of the night, police said.
Police say security camera footage showed that a man followed her back to her room, then put his arm around her as she staggered through the hallway.
She has only flashes of memories for the rest of the night, including removing her makeup, someone having sex with her and blurred vision of someone having sex with her friend. The women alerted the bar manager after the alleged attack, and police were called. The Auckland man was arrested the following week. Both victims continued their holiday overseas but may return to testify at the man's trial.
At the depositions hearing this week, police presented five exhibits of evidence, including photographic stills from the CCTV footage and eftpos receipts from the night the girls were allegedly attacked.
Detective constable Dick Corbidge, of the organised crime unit, said further physical evidence would be presented at the High Court.
The man has been granted interim name suppression because his mother is a prominent midwife in the Auckland region and he faces a custody battle for his three young children.
