A trial concerning a Co Down man accused of raping a sex worker in her home at knifepoint has commenced in Belfast.
Lee Haughian, from Oldtown Lane in Annalong, has been charged with, and denies, three offences allegedly committed last August.
The 25-year old is accused of two counts of rape and one count of possessing a bladed article with the intention of committing a sexual offence.
As the prosecution’s case was opened at Belfast Crown Court, the jury was told the alleged offences occurred in the complainant’s home in Belfast on August 15 last year.
Philip Henry KC said the woman, who is in her twenties, advertised her services as a prostitute on an escort website and was contacted by Haughian on August 13 2023.
Text messages were then exchanged discussing her availability, what services she provided, the length of the session and the price she charged.
She provided her address and told Haughian she had CCTV cameras installed at her home due to a previous incident which she didn’t feel she could report to the police.
Mr Henry said these cameras captured Haughian arriving at her home in his pick-up truck at around 12.30pm on the day in question. He was wearing a fleece, baseball cap and work trousers.
After letting Haughian in, they went up to her bedroom and after she got undressed, it’s the Crown’s case that Haughian said to her that he wouldn’t be paying her.
The jury heard that following this, he sexually assaulted her and produced a Stanley knife from the pocket of his trousers which he threatened her with and held at her throat.
Mr Henry said that after the incident ended, they both left the bedroom and before he left, Haughian told her he would be back at three o’clock the following day.
The prosecutor said that after the woman contacted the PSNI, Haughian was arrested and his home was searched. During the search, a police officer located and seized two Stanley knives from the pockets of his trousers.
Following his arrest, Haughian was interviewed and in a pre-prepared statement, he accepted he had gone to the woman’s home after contacting her on the website and claimed the sex was consensual.
He also claimed in his statement “we had a dispute over payment, I told her I didn’t want to pay ... and she told me if I didn’t pay £270 she would go to the police and allege that I had raped her”.
In his statement, Haughian added “why would you lie like that?” and after this “she escorted me to the door, opened it and I left and she closed the door behind me”.
Mr Henry told the jury there were “two different accounts” given by the complainant and the defendant and that it was up to them to determine who was telling the truth after they had heard and considered all the evidence.
At hearing.