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Gang rape of 16-year-old girl 'caught on GoPro camera,' hears court

Girl was unaware of alleged crime until police tracked her down, jurors told

Will Worley
Tuesday 07 November 2017 16:33 GMT
Tristan Carlyle-Watson denies assaulting the girl
Tristan Carlyle-Watson denies assaulting the girl

The alleged gang rape of a teenager was caught on a GoPro camera, a court has heard.

The footage purportedly shows a group of men assaulting a 16-year-old girl at a party in May 2015.

She did not know about the alleged crime until police told her almost two-months later, the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney, Australia, heard.

At one point during the 17-minute video, a man can reportedly be heard saying: “One by one we’ll all get a f***.”

It was discovered by police during an anti-graffiti investigation, six weeks after the alleged attack took place.

Defendants Tristan Carlyle-Watson, 26, Kurt Stevenson, 26 and Andrew Waters, 24 have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and assault charges.

The girl was invited to a house party by Mr Carlyle-Watson on Facebook, according to the Australian Associated Press. She asked him to “to take care of her,” the court heard.

At the party, the girl smoked cannabis and drank alcohol to the point where she wasn’t able to consent to sex, said prosecutor Sharon Harris.

In the video, the teenager said she was tired and wanted to sleep, but a man said: “I’ll get this f***ing party started c***.”

The men used a type of coded speech known locally as Pig Latin.

“Don’t you ilmfay (film) me... I can’t be going to ourtcay (court),” one man said.

Child Abuse Squad detective Tiffany Graham explained to the jury that in Pig Latin, 'eshay' would be used for ‘yes’ and ‘ohnay’ for ‘no,’ the Daily Mail reported.

Ms Harris told the court the video showed the men raping the girl “sometimes ... simultaneously, sometimes taking turns”.

The girl had no recollection of what happened but woke up in bed with Mr Carlyle-Watson allegedly forcing his penis into her mouth, Ms Harris said.

Despite bleeding, she was not aware of the alleged crime until police tracked her down after discovering the GoPro footage, and she became “upset”, he added.

Paul Glissan, defending Mr Carlyle-Watson, said the girl was “actively participating in the sex”.

Michael Smith, defending Mr Stevenson, said he didn’t know it was being filmed and told the others in the room to get out.

“Do not watch a two-dimensional, poor quality video and make your minds up about this case,” he added.

Mr Waters’ lawyer, Peter Little, said there was an issue of consent and the complainant can be seen cooperating.

The trial continues.

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