Thomas Earle faces ACT Supreme Court jury trial over alleged rape of Hinge match

Thomas Earle, 25, of Weetangera, faced the first day of a jury trial before Chief Justice Lucy McCallum in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday.

He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one count of act of indecency without consent.

During her opening statement, prosecutor Beth Morrisroe said Earle and the woman met on the dating app Hinge in 2021 and dated for about a month before deciding to be friends.

The court heard that on December 29 of that year, the woman sent a message to Earle asking for MDMA.

It is said he responded saying he had marijuana and the woman invited him to her home for dinner and to smoke the drug.

The prosecution said Earle had stayed at the home previously, sleeping in the bed with the alleged victim.

The court heard the woman wore a T-shirt and underwear, which was "pretty typical clothing" for her to wear while at home.

Ms Morrisroe said Earle and the woman ate together, drank alcohol, smoked marijuana with a vape and shared jungle juice that night.

The woman felt "incredibly high" and rested her head in Earle's lap while watching her favourite movie, the court heard.

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The prosecution states the woman went to bed but Earle stayed up to smoke more marijuana.

It is alleged the woman awoke at around 2am to find the defendant spooning her and touching her genitals.

In a police interview played to the court, the woman said she "froze because I wasn't expecting it ... because I was asleep".

"I was telling myself to push him off or to do something but it was like every muscle had seized up, like I was frozen," she said.

"I was trying to say anything ... but I couldn't get any words out."

Earle is accused of then raping her in three different ways.

In his introductory remarks, defence barrister James Sabharwal said his client did not deny that sexual intercourse occurred.

He said apology messages between the accused and the alleged victim proved "an acceptance that the complainant was not consenting".

However, Mr Sabharwal argued that did not mean his client knew the woman was not consenting at the time, nor that the 25-year-old had been reckless as to her consent.

"An acceptance some time later does not constitute that the accused was reckless," he said.

The trial is set to continue on Tuesday.

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