An Alice Springs foster father on trial for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting his then-17-year-old foster daughter has denied all charges before the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.
The 46-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated assault and one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
The crown prosecutor on Wednesday argued the accused inappropriately touched the alleged victim on multiple occasions inside the family home.
The man is accused of raping the girl while the family was staying at a holiday home in 2020 and in a hotel room during an interstate hospital visit months later, which the accused's wife and other children did not attend.
The alleged victim gave evidence last week before a closed court that members of the public and media were not allowed to attend, to protect her privacy.
Accused feels 'broken' by allegations, court told
The court heard the girl first made the allegations in a meeting with a school counsellor.
While being cross examined, the accused denied suggestions made by the crown prosecutor that he "couldn't help but having feelings of sexual attraction toward [the girl]" and that "sexual interest has overwhelmed [his] sense of parental responsibility".
The accused told the court he had felt "broken" when he heard the allegations.
"I collapsed in the courtyard, started to vomit and just cried," he said.
He said the alleged victim apologised to him and said "I love you" when Territory Families workers came to remove her from the home.
A friend of the accused, who said she had a "very special bond" with the alleged victim, told the court the girl had told her that the allegations she had reported to the school counsellor were untrue.
The friend told the jury she had asked the girl why she had made the allegations, and the girl said she had been having friendship problems at school and spent time at the counsellor's office to "get out of class".
The accused was emotional and cried multiple times while giving evidence on the witness stand.
The crown and defence will deliver their concluding remarks on Thursday before the jury retires to deliberate its verdict.
