A prison maintenance officer directed a female inmate into a shed and ordered her to “pull your pants down” before raping her “repeatedly and forcefully so it hurt”, a court has heard.
On Tuesday, prosecutors told a District Court jury that Enio Screpanti had also indecently assaulted the same inmate on a separate occasion at the Adelaide Women’s Prison.
Both offences, they alleged, occurred amid a background of sexual behaviour that gave him “the confidence” to offend – a claim disputed by Mr Screpanti.
His counsel urged jurors to “carefully” consider how “talk, chatter, grievance, influence and ignorance can shape or frame” allegations, saying “this is a prison case”.
Mr Screpanti, 67, of Hillbank, has pleaded not guilty to one aggravated count of indecent assault and one count of rape.
Opening the trial, prosecutor Christine Hanna alleged the offences occurred inside the prison in 2020 and 2021.
The alleged victim, she said, was entitled to work inside the prison and Mr Screpanti was her supervisor when she attended to maintenance jobs.
“Mr Screpanti asked (the woman) to accompany him to the gym to put up a punching bag,” she said.
“While they were together and alone in the gym, he asked her to walk on the treadmill while it was on so he could check it.”
Ms Hanna alleged Mr Screpanti indecently assaulted the woman as she walked on the treadmill before “moving his hand away”.
She alleged the rape occurred on a subsequent occasion after Mr Screpanti directed the woman into a maintenance shed on the prison grounds.
“He said ‘pull your pants down’ to which she initially said no … he seemed angry with her, which made her afraid, and she did it,” she said.
“He had her bend over (and sexually assaulted her) repeatedly and forcefully so it hurt.”
Ms Hanna asked jurors to consider the “background” and “context” of interactions between Mr Screpanti and the woman.
She said those acts and “sexual comments” showed the offending “didn’t come out of the blue”.
“A prisoner named Angie Walsh saw Mr Screpanti pin (the woman) by her arms against a pantry (in the prison),” she said.
“A prisoner named Nicole McGuinness saw Mr Screpanti exiting the bathroom of a unit where (the woman) was taking a shower.
“(Their evidence) might help you understand the way (the woman) responded to the charged offending, and why Mr Screpanti had the confidence to act in the way he did.”
Gilbert Aitken, for Mr Screpanti, told jurors that prosecutors would be unable to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
He said CCTV footage relating to the alleged incidents had been “lost” and was “no longer available”, and asked jurors to “examine” the reliability of the witnesses.
“You might also think that talk, chatter, grievance, influence or ignorance can shape or frame how allegations are made, discussed and repeated,” he said.
“This is a prison case.”
The trial, before Judge Anne Barnett, continues.