WARNING: Graphic content
A woman is expected to claim she woke up in urine soaked sheets with bleeding from her anus after a former NRL player raped her, a court has been told.
Tristan Sailor has pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault that led to actual bodily harm allegedly being inflicted on the woman between 9pm and 10.20pm in 2020.
The 23-year-old former St George Illawarra Dragons player appeared in Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday for what’s expected to be a three-week trial.
In his opening address after the jury was chosen, crown prosecutor Jeffrey Tunks said there was no dispute Mr Sailor and the woman had sex.
“This case is about consent to that sexual intercourse,” Mr Tunks told the court.
Mr Sailor has been accused of penetrating the woman’s vagina and anus without her consent after the pair played drinking games and had a binge drinking session in Bondi with friends, including former St George teammates who had been at the Beach Road Hotel since 10.30am.
The court was told the woman and her friend met Mr Sailor at the hotel after the pair first visited a restaurant.
Under the influence of cocaine she earlier snorted in a bathroom, the woman played drinking games with Mr Sailor at the hotel before she made it clear she did not want to go back to the apartments the men were staying at, Mr Tunks told the court.
Mr Sailor and his then-team mate Eddie Blacker ended up catching an Uber with the woman and her friend back to an apartment in southern Sydney, the court was told.
Later, after Mr Blacker and the woman’s friend had a shower, the court was told they discovered Mr Sailor and the woman were in a bedroom.
Mr Tunks said Mr Blacker was expected to give evidence stating he saw the woman lying naked with her eyes open and Mr Sailor standing near her.
“She woke up in the early hours of Sunday, 4 October finding herself in her bed naked,” Mr Tunks said.
“I expect she will tell you the top sheet on her bed at that time was soiled with urine.”
After the woman went to the toilet, Mr Tunks said the jury was expected to be told that “when she wiped her bottom she noticed a lot of bright red blood on the toilet paper”.
The court was told the woman sent a message to a friend, saying: “I genuinely think I was raped last night. I don’t remember anything.
“I feel sick, my bum’s bleeding and I don’t remember anything.”
When the woman contacted Mr Sailor to ask what happened, the court was told he said the pair had sex, asked her how she felt and sent her a selfie of them in a bathroom at the hotel.
The following night, the woman attended Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where Mr Tunks said injuries were observed.
“The genital examination showed a laceration extending in the area of her labia and that it was of recent origin … the anal examination showed two lacerations of recent origin at the rear section of her anus,” he said.
The court was told the crown would argue the woman did not have the opportunity to consent to the sex with Mr Sailor because she was either unconscious or asleep.
“Even if she gave some form of consent to the accused, she did so while she was substantially intoxicated by alcohol at the time and could not be said at all to be giving consent,” he said.
Mr Sailor was either reckless as to whether the woman consented or he had no reasonable grounds to believe she consented, the court was told.
Defence barrister Richard Pontello SC said the woman freely and voluntarily consented to having sex with Mr Sailor.
“The pair were physically attracted to one another at the Beach Road Hotel,” Mr Pontello said.
“They touched, hugged and kissed one another. They took selfies … much of the contact was initiated by the complainant and you’ll see that on the CCTV footage.
“The defence case is that attraction didn’t start there at the Beach Road Hotel but rather can be traced back to … when the pair exchanged text messages suggestive of a mutual sexual attraction.”
Mr Pontello said in one set of messages, the woman made reference to the small size of her bedroom and said “it’ll be a tight fit if I ever have anyone stay”.
Mr Sailor responded, saying: “I hope there will be room for me.”
The court was told the woman said “if you play your carxjmtzywds right there will be”.
Mr Pontello said when the woman sent a message to her ex after the alleged rape, she said: “I can’t say it was rape because I don’t know how I acted because I was drunk.”
“The defence case is she still had the capacity to freely and voluntarily consent to the sexual activity that took place,” Mr Pontello said.
“She was not, at any relevant time, substantially intoxicated to the point where she was not capable of doing so.”
“If the complainant freely and voluntarily consented to sexual intercourse … but later had no memory of it, that doesn’t mean she didn’t consent.”
Mr Pontello said Mr Sailor asked the woman if she consented to having sex multiple times and she said yes.
In court to support Mr Sailor on day one of the trial was his father Wendell, the ex- rugby union and league star who represented Australia in both sports.
The trial continues on Thursday.
