A man who lured a heavily intoxicated woman away from a group of friends before raping her while she was unconscious has admitted to assault in the Northern Territory Supreme Court.
Warning: This story contains details of a sexual assault which some readers may find confronting.
A 29-year-old man, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, after the daylight attack in a Darwin park last year.
The court heard the then-28-year-old had been drinking with a group of people at a park in Moil, in Darwin's northern suburbs, in April 2022 when he led the 21-year-old victim away, promising her more alcohol.
According to the agreed facts of the case, the woman was so drunk she was unable to walk without assistance from the man and was unconscious by the time they had reached a secluded area of Butters Park.
Crown prosecutor Marty Aust told the court the "brazen" assault happened in broad daylight and the offender was interrupted by three separate witnesses.
The first, a nearby resident, called out to the offender, before calling police and paramedics.
"[The first witness] observed that the victim wasn't talking at all, no sounds were coming out of her mouth, she wasn't saying anything, wasn't moving at all, she looked like she was unconscious," Mr Aust said.
Soon after, the court heard, a passing motorist pulled over and called out "what the f**k are you doing?", to which the man said he was trying to "help" the victim.
"Like f**k you were helping her, you were helping yourself," the witness said.
A third witness approached the scene and began filming, as the man attempted to dress himself and the victim before running away.
"The victim was unable to talk or stand and was completely unaware of what had just happened to her," said Mr Aust.
"The witnesses gave the victim a cool drink and held her head and kept her conscious until the St John Ambulance attended the scene."
The court heard the victim had no memory of the assault, recalling only walking towards the Moil Oval and waking up in the hospital.
"She might not have been conscious and aware … but she's left naked, in public, debris from the grass all over her," Mr Aust said.
"[The victim] hasn't told her family what has happened to her yet."
In a section of the victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said her life had changed since the attack and she stayed close to her family to feel safe.
'This is a very common type of offending in this court'
Justice Judith Kelly said the victim was helpless at the time of the assault and "very, very vulnerable".
"[The offender] was undeterred by attempted intervention from bystanders and quite frankly this type of offending does happen in this community," Mr Aust said.
"There are a large number of vulnerable women in and around Darwin who come in from [remote communities] that have underlying issues, that put themselves in situations where they require respect or dignity to be maintained by those around them and instead, they're preyed upon. This is a very common type of offending in this court, Your Honour."
"Unfortunately, you're right," Justice Kelly said.
The man's defence lawyer, John Blackley, suggested the offender had not planned to assault the woman and was disinhibited by alcohol at the time of the attack.
"It does explain, somewhat, the behaviour in such a brazen and public forum," Mr Blackley said.
"This is not a man who's, for instance, pinned down someone and raped them against their wishes in broad daylight as a sober man. This is someone who is intoxicated and has taken advantage of someone."
Mr Blackley urged Justice Kelly to consider giving the man a partially suspended jail sentence, telling the court he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and had no record of prior sexual offending.
The man was arrested in a remote community around two weeks after the assault in April last year and has been in custody since.
Justice Judith Kelly adjourned the matter for sentencing later this month.
