An alleged rape victim once admitted making a false claim before a criminal charge was conditionally dismissed, a jury has heard.
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The woman alleges furniture removalist Tareq Mikhael Setto, 39, sexually assaulted her in his van after she asked for a lift home and got into his vehicle on August 13, 2017.
The Sydney District Court jury heard on Friday the woman had numerous scratches and bruises on her upper legs when she was examined by a doctor four hours after the alleged incident.
She'd earlier made a report of sexual assault to a cafe worker, police and paramedics, the court was told.
Setto has pleaded not guilty.
Under cross-examination on Friday, the woman agreed she was charged in 2018 over a "false representation" that had resulted in an unrelated police investigation.
A magistrate later dismissed the matter under the mental health act after the woman admitted making the false statement and agreed to comply with a treatment plan.
Just before raising the 2018 matter, Setto's barrister suggested she had not had sex with his client.
"No, it did occur," she replied.
"I'm putting to you that what you have said ... is not true," barrister Peter Williams said.
"I'm saying it is true. He sexually assaulted me," she said.
The woman says she passed out in the van and came to as Setto moved her body and began having non-consensual sexual intercourse with her.
The jury is expected to watch CCTV footage of the van in nearby streets about the time of the alleged incident in an inner-Sydney suburb.
Mary Dobbie, a clinician from Royal Prince Alfred's sexual assault service, told the jury she saw the then-26-year-old about 3pm on August 13 and noted a cluster of 15 bruises on the front of her legs.
Two bruises on the woman's upper rear thighs and three linear scratches on the right upper leg were also present on the "coherent" but "distressed" woman, the doctor said.
"She was speaking in a quiet voice and would trail off," Dr Dobbie said.
A small scratch was found on the woman's genital area but the doctor couldn't say with certainty what that indicated.
"To see an injury like that shows some clumsiness, it may not be forced but (can indicate) some difficulty."
The trial continues.
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Australian Associated Press
