A Wellington woman today told a jury of how she awoke early on New Year's Day last year to find a man in her bed, touching her genitals.
Swinton Tamahou, 34, appeared in Wellington District Court charged with indecent assault and burglary.
The complainant, aged 22, said she
had been celebrating the New Year but had not been drinking as she was eight months pregnant with her second child. Her partner was away so rather than sleep in an empty house she opted to stay in the guest bedroom of her friends' Porirua home with her young son.
Shortly after first light she awoke to a man with his head and arms beneath the blankets, licking and touching her, she told the court.
The man left when she woke but returned shortly after. The woman said by this time she was out of bed and swore at him when he attempted to re-enter the bedroom , causing him to run away. She said his face was covered so that only his eyes were visible.
Prosecutor Tom Gilbert told the court Tamahou was arrested after his fingerprints were found 2.66m up a downpipe on the side of the house which led to a bathroom window with a faulty latch.
A muddy footprint found on the sink beneath the window resembled the tread on a pair of shoes found at Tamahou's house.
Mr Gilbert said Tamahou, who lived nearby, had told police he had never been to the address and somebody else must have put his fingerprints there.
He told the jury Tamahou had two previous convictions for offences where he had entered the rooms of sleeping women, leaving when they woke up.
Defence lawyer Elizabeth Hall questioned the alleged victim's recollection of the event as she had admitted being dazed upon waking.
The woman had told Mr Gilbert that after the man left she wondered whether it had been a bad dream but said when the man returned those thoughts disappeared.
The trial was expected to last three days.
- NZPA
