'I was running for my life', alleged victim tells Hamilton jury

A man who was allegedly repeatedly kicked and stomped on the head before being sexually assaulted says he feared for his life that night.

The complainant was the first to give evidence in the trial at the Hamilton District Court today when he recalled an attack allegedly handed down by Elisha Jack Cramond, 26, and Michael Sam Torrington, 28.

The pair are jointly defending charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and sexual violation to a man at Kerepehi on August 28 last year.

Cramond pleaded not guilty to further charges of assault with a vehicle as a weapon, threatening to kill and attempting to pervert the course of justice, along with a charge of injuring with intent to injure a second victim who is the first victim's partner.

The alleged victim told the jury of four men and eight women he had known Torrington for about four years and considered him a "good mate".

He met Cramond on the night of the incident.

He spoke of a "serious" argument he and Torrington had the night before the assault in which he threatened Torrington with a chisel.

The next day, Torrington drove his two children, as well as the two victims to the snow in Taupo before heading to Cramond's house to begin drinking.

The victim doesn't drink alcohol.

The other three left to do burnouts in Cramond's vehicle and, bored, the victim said he drove back to Torrington's farm house.

The trio arrived back, and annoyed at how long they'd been, the victim began arguing with Cramond before a physical fight started.

Then Torrington put him in a headlock.

"I was put into a headlock and everything changed. It went from a one on one fight to a two on one fight … as soon as I knew Mike was getting involved I knew I wasn't going to win that night."

After wriggling out of the headlock, he ran out through the ranchslider, jumped over a fence and into a paddock.

"I was running for my life. As soon as Mike put me in that headlock, in my head, I knew they were coming for me. I knew I was going to get beaten up and I didn't want a piece of that."

He then recalled "a flurry" of kicks and stomps to his head.

"I remember laying there thinking that these are my days, 'I'm gone, I'm done,'. The head kicking was … just off the hook. It was insane the amount of kicks that I received.

"It's ugly to think about. I sit there all the time thinking like, how, why."

During the assault he recalled the pair allegedly rubbing cow dung in his eyes and in his mouth.

He also recalled being lifted by the waist and a hand going down his pants.

"I remember being lifted up from my pants and a hand going into my pants and that's all I remember .. I woke up with this gut feeling that something had happened to me."

Earlier in the night he also recalled the accused yelling "I'm going to f****** rape you c*** and then I'm going to f****** rape your Mrs".

The man will continue to give evidence this afternoon.

In her opening, Crown prosecutor Hiedi Wrigley said while the two accused admitted being there they denied handing down the heavy blows.

Torrington said he only pushed the victim, while Cramond admitted punching him a few times to the head.

The trial is set down for four days and is being overseen by Judge Kim Saunders.