A man accused of raping a woman at knifepoint in her own home has a record of dishonesty offences, a jury has heard.

The defendant claims he and the complainant had consensual sex. But accusing him of fabricating his evidence yesterday, Senior Crown Counsel Paula Tyndale said: “You are not a man with a reputation for honesty. You have been convicted in the courts of Bermuda for a number of crimes of dishonesty. Do you agree?”

He replied: “Yes”.

The woman has told the man’s Supreme Court trial she awoke in the early hours of November 12 2006 to find a knife-wielding intruder inside the bedroom of her Pembroke home. She said he threatened to kill her, raped her, and made her shower afterwards. The lady said after this her assailant made her put on sunglasses while it was still dark and drive to a bank ATM to withdraw $1,000, warning he would kill her if she looked at his face.

Neither she nor the 54-year-old defendant, of no fixed address, can be identified for legal reasons. The man, who was arrested on November 15, denies charges of aggravated burglary and serious sexual assault causing bodily harm while armed, plus robbery and deprivation of liberty.

A self-confessed drug user, he has given evidence that the woman picked him up from the Ducking Stool area of Pembroke on the night in question, taking him to her home to look at a window in need of repair. He has told the jury they had sex with her consent and she offered to get him $1,000 from an ATM afterwards.

In her closing speech to the jury, Ms Tyndale said it had experienced a week of hearing “fairly intense, sometimes emotional and sometimes difficult-to-listen-to evidence”.

She asked the jurors to find the complainant to be a forthright witness of truth, and one who gave evidence that tallied with other witnesses for the prosecution. The defendant, she said, had created a tale about what happened “from day one” and had a track record for dishonesty further borne out by the court case.

Listing reasons why the jury should believe the woman’s account, including her at-times emotional testimony, Ms Tyndale said if this was all a pretence she should give up her current job and move to Hollywood.

However, defence lawyer Larry Scott cast doubt on evidence for the prosecution. He said that the case was a sensitive one and he had felt the need to tread delicately when cross examining the woman about the “nasty business.”

But he asked them to consider her demeanour in the witness box, including a point where “her ears went as red as could be.”

On the issue of his client’s stance that he and the woman had consensual sex without previously knowing each other’s names, Mr. Scott said the days when people waited until marriage to have intercourse were gone.

Of Ms Tyndale’s remarks about his client’s reputation, Mr. Scott responded: “He’s not a perfect person. He’s had trouble in the past (but) he’s an honest man and that’s all you can judge.”

The case continues.

Closing arguments in sex assault case heard