SYDNEY: New South Wales District Court on Monday carried out a hearing on the case in which Nepalese tourist is accused of plying his girlfriend’s housemate in Sydney while the girlfriend was out.
During the hearing, Balram Shiv 36, pleaded not guilty of sexually and indecently assaulting a 19-year-old international student at her home in Sydney’s south on June 13, 2017.
Shiv is accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s housemate in 2017 after getting drunk.
Mr Shiv who was residing in the United States and had been staying with his girlfriend for a week before the incident occurred.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, in his opening remarks, Crown prosecutor Louie Christoff said the court would hear Mr Shiv’s girlfriend was studying at another friend’s house when he arrived at the door with a bottle of spirits and invited the alleged victim and another friend to drink it with him, which they did.
“After the three finished the first bottle, the accused then offered to order an Uber to purchase a second,” Mr Christoff said, “which they also did. During the course of the evening, both women became intoxicated.”
Mr Christoff said that when the woman was conscious, she told Mr Shiv words along the lines of “I don’t want to do this”.
Mr Christoff argued that the alleged victim was so intoxicated “she was not in a position to freely and voluntarily consent to sexual intercourse”, and that when she woke from her state of blackout she “expressed that she did not consent”, hence, the accused be punished.
(With inputs from Sydney Morning Herald)
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