Jury begins deliberations in ACT Supreme Court trial of accused rapist doctor Imran Kader

The trial of Imran Kader continued in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday after he pleaded not guilty to six charges, including two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

He also denies two counts of committing an act of indecency without consent, and single charges of second-degree sexual assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The court has heard the doctor and nurse first met at a bar in Braddon on the night of a Christmas party in November 2019.

The prosecution alleges Kader pushed the nurse into a taxi bound for his apartment in Deakin later that night.

Once in his apartment, it is alleged Kader indecently assaulted the nurse with an electric toothbrush.

He is accused of then forcefully pushing the nurse onto his bed, resulting in a large bruise on her back when she hit a wooden bed end. Kader is then accused of raping the woman.

While giving evidence, Kader denied assaulting the alleged victim with a toothbrush, but said the other sexual acts were consensual.

He claimed the bruise was a result of stumbling and accidentally dropping the nurse on the bed before sexual activity continued.

The court heard the nurse noticed the doctor, who was married at the time, was wearing a wedding ring and tried to leave. The prosecution alleges Kader threw the woman against a wall to prevent her from leaving, before she got in an Uber.

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In his closing address, defence barrister James Maher said the alleged victim had gone willingly and voluntarily home with Kader.

He suggested the nurse "might have sought to minimise her involvement on the night" out of embarrassment in going home with a married man.

"[Kader] is not on trial for infidelity," Mr Maher said.

He called into question the alleged victim's account of events, saying there are "clear issues with her memory of what happened and of her accuracy and detail".

"[The accused] has provided a version of events that has been consistent," Mr Maher said.

In her closing statement, prosecutor Rebecca Christensen SC told the jury Kader's account of events was not credible, honest or reliable.

She argued the back injury "would've readily put a stop to any sexual activity" if it was consensual.

"[Kader's] account is entirely a fantasy, simply a fantasy the accused has created in his own mind," Ms Christensen said.

"There can be no doubt [the alleged victim] was not consenting, she was saying 'no', she was pushing him away.

"[Kader] not only tried to force her to inhale [a] white substance but he forced himself on her.

"He is the opposite of what a doctor should be."

Kader previously pleaded guilty to a perjury charge relating to evidence he gave during legal proceedings earlier this year, when he falsely said a dog was living with him at the time of the alleged rape.

Mr Maher urged the jury to "keep an open mind" and argued the lie "was about a trivial issue".

The jury began deliberations mid-afternoon Wednesday.

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