Nikki Alexander Frank, 46, and Peter John Haden, 62, stood in the dock this morning as their charges were read out to them before a jury and Justice Christine Gordon.
They pleaded not guilty to all eight charges - two of rape, four of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, and two of making an intimate visual recording.
Opening the case, Crown prosecutor Ella Palsenbarg said the men took advantage of a woman who was unable to give her consent.
Palsenbarg said the woman spent an afternoon at Takapuna Beach in April 2021 and was leaving when she saw Frank and Haden in a bongo van.
They looked like they were builders, which reminded the woman of her father, the court heard.
The men exchanged greetings with her and started chatting. She said she was looking for work and they offered her a building job starting the next day.
Delighted, the woman said she accepted their invitation to join them for a celebration of Frank's 45th birthday in their van, where they had a drink and shared a cannabis joint.
They decided to leave at about 7pm, and she recounted to police how she told them she wanted to go home and get changed first because she was in a bikini and shorts.
She said she started to feel dizzy in the van, and her legs went numb before she blacked out. Instead of driving her home, the men drove to Haden's Northcote address, the court heard.
She described feeling the men lifting her "deadweight" up a flight of stairs before she blacked out again.
When she woke up in a very dark room, the court heard, the alleged assault had already begun.
"I didn't know where I was, didn't know where my clothes were," she said in the video recording of her interview with police two days after the incident, played in closed court this afternoon.
Frank and Haden allegedly took turns raping and violating her over nearly two hours.
"I was saying 'Oh no, oh no, oh no.' And then he kissed me," she told the police officer.
"My mind, my words, my body - it didn't matter, he just kept on going."
She said she couldn't move her legs or her body, and whenever she tried Frank would push her back down, she recalled on further questioning.
"I wanted to be sick so he'd stop."
She said she was terrified and freaking out but tried her best to stay calm, hoping the ordeal would end and she could go home.
"I kept thinking, what's the best way of getting out without angering them."
Two videos of the alleged assault taken on Frank's phone were also played in closed court, where Haden could be heard telling the other man to "give her a break" because it was hurting.
When the men were finished, the woman was finally able to get up and find her clothes to get dressed, she told police.
Haden went to the kitchen to cook some kai and asked her to join them for dinner, but she said no and walked out of the house.
She said she did not want to get back into the van, but said yes to Haden's offer to drive her home because she had no idea where she was.
She said she felt "squashed, disgusted, sore", but had to pretend to be okay in the van just to get home.
Back at her motel, she recalled just wanting to forget the night but eventually worked up the courage to go to the hospital and call the police.
"I just can't believe they would do this to people. They tricked me," she said in the police interview.
"Now I can't trust people ... can't talk to anyone, which defeats the purpose of being a human being."
Frank's lawyer Tiffany Cooper said her client believed they had consensual sex.
"There's a real back story to this case," she told the jury, "Despite your understandable emotions, please keep an open mind."
The trial continues this week.
Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email support@safetotalk.nz
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.
