An alleged rape victim had bruises to her neck and chest and lacerations to her private parts, a Supreme Court judge and jury heard yesterday.

And the 25-year-old defendant said he believed the complainant had been looking for sex, hoping to be repaid in drugs.

Neither the defendant nor the complainant can be named for legal reasons.

Summing up the prosecution's case for the serious sexual assault trial, Crown counsel Sandra Bacchus called a Police physician to give evidence on the witness stand.

Dr. Basil Wilson testified he examined the 38-year-old complainant hours after she was allegedly raped three times by an acquaintance on March 27.

Ms Bacchus read out -- to the six-man, six-woman jury -- the doctor's statement which described how he had been on call at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital when the complainant arrived, accompanied by two women Police officers.

A report of the examination showed that the doctor found grass and dirt in the alleged victim's face and hair, bruises to the front portion of her neck and to her left breast and lacerations or "tears'' in her vaginal and anal areas.

Earlier testimony from the Sandys Parish woman included her account of being pushed down to the ground and strangled by the defendant, to the point of "feeling light-headed''.

A statement from the defendant given a few days later indicated that he shouted at her and "may have scared her'', but did not threaten her or use any physical force in the intercourse.

The jury had heard earlier that the couple's meeting took place on Bob's Valley Road, in Sandys Parish just after midnight and that, after driving off together on the complainant's scooter, they had sex in a darkened clearing just off the Railway Trail.

With the prosecution presenting evidence from several Police detectives and a civilian duty officer, it was up to the defence, represented by attorneys Patricia Harvey-Burch and Graveney Bannister, to try and convince the jury of their client's innocence.

Their cross-examination of Crown witnesses revealed that certain elements of the Police investigation into the incident had been overlooked and that the complainant was, in fact, a narcotics user.

When they began their case yesterday, the first witness called was the defendant.

Spurred on by questions from Mrs. Harvey-Burch, he described how he had been drinking for "pretty much the whole day'' before and was dropped off by his friend on Bob's Valley Road between midnight and 1 a.m.

"This bike came up to me,'' he continued, "and the person on it asked me if I had any `fifties' (crack cocaine).

"I said `yeah' and got on her bike. She never showed me any money so I just assumed that she wanted to get her groove on and be paid with drugs. All crackheads sell their bodies for rocks like that.'' The defendant confirmed that he had sex with the complainant, but said: "I never threatened to `put a cap in her back' and I never choked her or slapped her. She's a crackhead and all crackheads know how to lie.'' He added: "Although she was complaining the whole time and telling me to stop, she was sort of contradicting herself by rubbing herself back into me. I just kept on going.'' Asked if he stole her gold earrings, the defendant stated: "No, I never did that.'' "After that,'' he explained, "we just got on the bike and drove back to where I had been picked up. I went up the hill to my house and went to sleep on the living room floor. The next thing I knew the Police were knocking on the door.'' Despite pleas from Puisne Judge Philip Storr to get the case moving as quickly as possible, the trial will run well into the beginning of next week.

On Wednesday the court heard that one of jury members would be departing the Island to go on holiday and that the case may have to be postponed until a later date.

Deciding, however, that they did not want the complainant to have to go through testifying again, the jury member put off her travel plans and the case will be allowed to conclude as planned.

The trial continues tomorrow.