A Sydney DJ trapped a woman in a hotel bathroom and refused to let her leave until she agreed to have sex with him, causing her lasting emotional distress, a jury has been told.
Felix Azarias Lara, also known as DJ Gato Felix, and the woman were in Noumea, New Caledonia in July 2015 for a dance event.
As she was getting ready to go out one day, Lara started yelling at her and asking her who she was seeing, crown prosecutor Trish McDonald SC told NSW District Court on Wednesday.
The Parramatta man allegedly carried the woman into the hotel bathroom and dropped her into a running bathtub, demanding her to have sex with him.
As she struggled to climb out of the bath he pushed her down into the water, then pushed her against a wall by the throat as she tried to leave the room, Ms McDonald said.
Finally, she relented, and Lara allowed her to leave to the bedroom, where the pair allegedly had sex.
"She talked herself through the experience, trying to convince herself she wasn't a victim and trying to treat it like it was normal sex," the prosecutor said.
After returning to Australia, the woman initially told her friends Lara had locked her in the bathroom, but did not disclose she was coerced into sex, the jury heard.
Only after telling the whole story to her fiance, who she met after the trip, did it dawn on her that what occurred was not only a physical assault, but also a sexual assault, Ms McDonald said.
A forensic psychiatrist found she experiences post traumatic stress disorder as a result, she told the jury.
"She will give evidence about the symptoms she still suffers from - nightmares, anxiety - and how it's had an impact on her behaviour in an ongoing and persistent way," Ms McDonald said.
Lara, 38, was arrested in 2022 and pleaded not guilty to intentionally causing serious harm to an Australian citizen while outside of Australia.
He was director of event company Bailar Kizomba, through which he ran dance parties in Noumea until October 2018, his LinkedIn page reads.
"Having played and managed events of all sizes all over the world, his home base is here in Sydney, where he runs some of Sydney's best parties," it claims.
The defence is due to give its opening address on Thursday.
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