The alleged victim of two sexual assaults at the hands of a Northern Territory police officer "has all the hallmarks of the most unreliable witness", a court has heard.
Senior Sergeant Patrick Carson has pleaded not guilty to two charges of sexual intercourse without consent, accused of twice raping a young woman he befriended in 2020.
Much of the two-week trial was closed to the public and media as the complainant, who cannot be identified, gave evidence to the court.
In her closing address to the jury, defence barrister Mary Chalmers SC said the panel may find Mr Carson and the complainant "were on the cusp of an affair", however, told them they were not to "sit in moral judgement of people's relationships".
"We're all grown-ups in this room, we know that … these dalliances happen from time to time. And some of you might not approve of people having those dalliances with that particular age gap or those particular relationships, for example with a married man," Ms Chalmers SC said.
"But they do happen and it's really important that you remind yourselves that … you're actually here to determine whether or not the Crown's evidence is reliable enough to meet that standard of proof."
Court hears of 'secret chats' between police officer and alleged victim
Ms Chalmers SC told the court that on the day of the first alleged incident, the complainant sent a text to a friend saying, "we really nearly stuffed things up".
She argued the message meant something had happened which both Mr Carson and the complainant had been involved in and was "not an account of someone raping someone else".
"It is very easy for a young woman like [the complainant] to make an allegation against a married man when there's only two of them there on the occasion in question," she said.
"It is very easy for her to make that allegation and very hard to disprove."
Ms Chalmers SC told the court the complainant and Mr Carson continued to message, including sending "love hearts" after both alleged incidents and further accused the complainant of lying on a job application and in a separate work-related investigation.
"This is a woman who lies, she lies when she's under an obligation to tell the truth and when she's confronted with her own lie, she reverts to 'oh well I just can't recall'," Ms Chalmers SC said.
"She's not someone you can rely on."
Cop 'groomed' alleged victim, prosecutors argue
Ms Chalmers SC rejected accusations made by Senior Crown Prosecutor Marty Aust in his closing address on Monday that Mr Carson "groomed" the alleged victim.
"When you read [the messages between Mr Carson and the complainant] … it's almost equivalent to a document that is a chronicle of how to groom and take advantage of someone," Mr Aust told jurors.
He said the accused had made the complainant "feel special" and that she continued messaging him after the alleged rapes because she accepted his apologies and "wanted to try and pretend things weren't happening".
Mr Aust urged jurors in his final address to find the alleged victim was "honest and reliable" in her evidence.
"[The complainant is] a teenage girl described as shy, lacking confidence, socially inadequate, immature … she's a bit silly," he said.
"She's the perfect prey for Mr Carson and when he ultimately takes advantage of her, given the dynamic [of their relationship] she's going to accept his apologies."
Jury to begin deliberations
After several hours of summary and a final address from Justice Stephen Southwood on Tuesday afternoon, jurors will begin deliberations on Wednesday morning.
Justice Southwood told jurors to "scrutinise" the evidence of the complainant and said they should "come to [their] own conclusions" as to whether text messages sent by the alleged victim were consistent with her evidence.
Justice Southwood also instructed jurors not to "draw any inference" against Mr Carson because he elected not to give evidence to the court.
"He is entitled to the presumption of innocence, he is not required to prove anything at all," Justice Southwood said.
Jurors will continue deliberations until they reach a verdict.
