Man accused of raping ex-partner

A young woman told today how her former partner raped her after the pair had split up following an abusive relationship.

Arakura Wickliffe is on trial in Wellington District Court after pleading not guilty to one charge of rape and 10 charges of assault and assault with intent to injure.

Crown prosecutor Jackson Webber said from 2004 to 2007 Wickliffe repeatedly subjected the woman to "serious domestic violence" culminating in rape.

Mr Webber said the pair began "a standard teenage romance" as 14-year-old but Wickliffe became abusive after they moved from the Wellington area to Christchurch in 2004.

Giving evidence the 20-year-old now former partner said she was often punched in the back of the head and the face.

She was also kicked in the stomach while pregnant.

She said she did not report the abuse out of fear.

"After he'd say that he loved me - I would just believe it so everything was fine," she said.

After several years the pair separated and Wickliffe moved back to the Wellington area.

The alleged rape occurred when the woman also returned to area in mid-2007.

In cross-examination defence lawyer Christopher Stevenson asked the woman if she had overstated any aspects of her evidence.

"Is it possible that it was just the two of you having vigorous sex and that there was nothing wrong until the next morning?

"You didn't just get angry because his new girlfriend was coming over?"

"No," the woman said.

The trial continues tomorrow.

- NZPA