A SENIOR aircraftman accused of sexually assaulting a woman after a night out has told a jury he was ‘shocked’ about the allegations.

Joseph Tuitoga, of RAF Brize Norton, near Carterton, is on trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration.

The 28-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on August 9, 2022 in Witney town centre after meeting her in a snooker bar.

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However, Tuitoga has denied the offences – telling the jury on Thursday (June 27) he was ‘shell-shocked’ upon hearing the allegations.

He is accused of lifting the woman ‘like a baby’ after leaving the club before biting her nipples and sexually assaulting her.

Speaking to the jury, he said that had not happened and he had ‘put her down’ after ‘no more than five seconds’.

He said: “I picked her up like a baby, my right hand under her back and my left hand under her legs. It was no more than five seconds.

“I think we just joking and bantering down the alleyway, I don’t know, I was a bit drunk. I just put her down, we were just giddy leaving the club.

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“We both walked off together. My friend and her friends were literally two steps behind us.”

Tuitoga told the jury that he was then involved in an unrelated incident – a fight – which took place in the town centre.

He said: “The fight happened and the police came and one of them was restraining me and she [the complainant] walked past and said, ‘Are you alright? I’m so sorry’ and that was the last interaction with her.”

The aircraftsman then said he found out about the allegations 10 days later when he was called for an interview by a superior officer.

“He said I needed to come in for questioning and I thought it was to do with the fight,” he said. “He told me there was an allegation of sexual assault and I was just shocked.

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When asked why he first told the officer he ‘did not remember’ if he bit the woman, he said: “I was shell-shocked because the whole I thought it was the fight so in the interview I had to remember what we did 12 nights before when I was drunk.

“I had to work and go into the corners of my brain to extract the memories the officer was asking of me and I found it hard to remember it.”

The trial continues.