The man accused of raping a colleague in Australia's Parliament House in Canberra has gone on trial.
Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann is charged with sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins in the office of a government minister in March 2019.
Mr Lehrmann, 27, has pleaded not guilty and denies the pair had sex at all.
The trial in a Canberra court is scheduled to last up to six weeks and could call on several high-profile witnesses.
Opening their case on Tuesday, prosecutors said the alleged incident had happened after "a drunken night out" with colleagues.
Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins had stopped at Parliament House, where they both worked, and Ms Higgins soon fell asleep on a sofa in a minister's office, the jury was told.
"The next thing I can remember was being on the couch as he was raping me," Ms Higgins said in a police interview played to the court.
"I said 'no' at least half a dozen times. He did not stop.
"I was crying through the entire process."
The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court heard Ms Higgins had consumed 11 drinks earlier that night and, in the days after, had described herself as "barely lucid" and so intoxicated "I couldn't write my own name".
She initially reported the incident in April 2019, but the court heard she withdrew her complaint because she feared it would interfere with her job during an election campaign.
Almost two years later, in February 2021, she asked police to reopen the case after conducting interviews with two journalists.
But Mr Lehrmann's barrister, Steven Whybrow, said Ms Higgins's account of events contained holes and inconsistencies.
He said it was "the elephant in the room" that Ms Higgins went to the media before making her 2021 request to police - and he urged jurors to ignore previous media coverage which he said had snowballed.
He said her allegations had "rocked the entire political landscape".
"Mark Twain once said: 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.' And this case is the epitome of that phrase," the barrister said.
Mr Lehrmann remained entitled to the presumption of innocence, he added.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum also warned jurors the case had received "a fair measure of media publicity" but that it was "very important" they put this out of their minds.
Latest Stories
-
EXPLAINER: Will dumsor end soon?
22 mins -
IMANI Africa takes on EC, accuses it of lying and publishing half truths
1 hour -
Manasseh Azure calls for investigation and prosecution of those responsible for GRA/SML contract
1 hour -
Kwesi Atuahene: Ghana’s health capital depends on HealthTech – Africa Center for Digital Transformation
2 hours -
13 signs your wife is planning on leaving you and you have no idea
2 hours -
IMANI Africa: Ghana’s EC’s dangerous and pathological conduct
2 hours -
If I speak there will be fire – Salah on Klopp row
3 hours -
Grieving after divorce is normal, but this particular kind of grief isn’t
3 hours -
10 beautifully unexpected ways husbands proposed to their wives
3 hours -
Reality zone with Vicky Wireko: Painting Ghana purple: Be aware, May is month of mental health awareness
3 hours -
Prof Opoku-Agyemang’s integrity is admirable – Inusah Fuseini
3 hours -
Your reign has been a beacon of wisdom – Alan Kyerematen tells Asantehene
3 hours -
Akufo-Addo’s driver wins La Dadekotopon NPP primary
3 hours -
Education Minister must channel resources to rebrand basic public schools into tackling critical needs – Minority
4 hours -
CAFCC: “Dreams need to score early to unsettle Zamalek” – Former Zamalek striker Felix Aboagye
5 hours