Sex assault-accused Luiz da Silva Neto maintained his account of what happened with his first alleged victim as he was quizzed by the prosecution.
The 35-year-old denies drugging and sexually assaulting two men in a cottage in Middle Barton, west Oxfordshire, in November and December last year.
The first complainant, who was at the cottage to help carry out some DIY work on November 10 last year, claims he was given Jägermeister to drink. He quickly became sleepy then woke up to find himself undressed with the defendant performing oral sex on him.
READ MORE: Cotswold 'drugging' trial accused begins giving evidence at Oxford Crown Court
Da Silva Neto’s account, spelled out to the jury during a lengthy spell in the witness box yesterday, is that the sexual activity was consensual and followed the pair watching pornography together.
Cross-examining him on Wednesday afternoon, prosecutor Matthew Walsh asked: “You knew it was just you and [the complainant] at the house. Your partner wasn’t there and you saw an opportunity to do things to him, didn’t you?”
The defendant disagreed: “No, I didn’t see an opportunity.” They were ‘just friends’ who had shared a beer, he added.
Mr Walsh asked whether da Silva Neto had given him GBL or Flubromazolam, a form of Valium. He responded: “No, I didn’t have these drugs on me that night.”
The prosecutor quizzed: “He was obviously not consenting and you had deliberately done things so he did not have the ability to consent. That is the truth, isn’t it?”
“No, I would have to disagree with that,” da Silva Neto replied.
READ MORE: Da Silva Neto trial: Defendant gives evidence about December allegations
Earlier, Mr Walsh asked the defendant about the time they had arrived at the cottage. Having told detectives that they reached Middle Barton at 7pm or 8pm, he told the jury ‘it was quite late, it was 10.30 [or] 11’. However, evidence from his phone pointed to them arriving at 12.50am.
The prosecutor questioned whether the pair of them would have started taping up doors and sanding down floors, as the defendant suggested, if they had arrived that late.
Da Silva Neto said: “We did work that late at night. I was high, as well. I didn’t think it was too late to do any work so that is what I did.”
The trial continues.
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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward
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