Inconsistencies in how a Sydney nurse described her alleged rape would lead a jury to have "grave doubts" about her credibility, a defence barrister says.
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But the Crown argues the Sydney District Court jury should expect discrepancies in what she told people shortly after the alleged attack in inner Sydney, given her distress and intoxication.
After a week-long trial, jury deliberations are expected to begin on Thursday into allegations a furniture removalist sexually assaulted a 26-year-old woman in his van on August 13, 2017.
Tareq Mikhael Setto, 39, denies any sexual incident occurred while the van was parked in Woolloomooloo.
He accepted he blocked out part of the van's front window when his colleague went to get cigarettes and the woman lay passed out on the bench seat.
But Setto said he did so out of concern someone would look in and see her "laying like a dead person".
The woman, who'd asked for a lift home after leaving a house party, said she woke to the window blacked out and Setto moving her left leg behind the steering wheel and her right leg behind the driver's headrest.
She initially said Setto pulled her tight-fitting shorts down, raped her and pulled the shorts back up.
But under cross-examination, the now-29-year-old wasn't sure if the pants or legs moved first.
A doctor later recalled the woman telling her on August 13 that the pants were pulled "off".
Setto's barrister asked the jury to use their common sense about what he described as "the crux" of the case.
"You would have very grave doubts about her credibility," Peter Williams said in his closing address.
"That's the crux of it. That's how she said there was intercourse."
One witness recalled the woman said Setto and his colleague "were all over me and touching me" while a male paramedic said the woman told him the van driver had tried to grab her leg and kiss her.
"Has he made that up?" Mr Williams said.
The Crown said the woman's account is strengthened due to her immediate reports of rape to Setto's colleague, a cafe worker, a paramedic, police and a doctor.
His DNA being linked to a swab of the woman's vulva powerfully supported the contention he had sexual intercourse with her, the Crown said.
Bruising and scratches on her legs also supported her version.
The defence pointed to expert evidence that male DNA would also be expected inside the vaginal canal if full penetration had occurred.
Judge Sarah Huggett told the jury they should take into account uncontested evidence about Setto's good character and lack of criminal history.
The alleged incident occurred after the woman was followed out of a small inner-Sydney gathering by a man who'd made unwanted advances.
She had already called an Uber but approached Setto's colleague and asked for a lift to her nearby home.
The woman alleged the men refused to let her out when they approached her street and she passed out shortly thereafter.
Australian Associated Press
