A social media influencer accused of sexually assaulting two young men confessed his love to one of them and told people the pair were in a relationship, a court has heard.
The man, who has interim name suppression, has admitted assaulting the first complainant at a party in 2019 and possessing MDMA, also known as ecstasy.
However, he denies three counts of sexual violation, two charges of stupefying and three counts of blackmail.
He has also denied three charges of sexually violating another young man in 2017.
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* Young man looked up to social media influencer who then allegedly sexually assualted him, court hears
The man is on trial in the High Court at Auckland.
Defence lawyer Emma Priest told the jury her client is innocent.
The Crown’s case is that the influencer, who was “close friends” with the complainants, “abused the trust of those relationships in quite extreme ways”.
On more than one occasion, the pair found themselves waking up in the influencer’s bed being sexually assaulted, the Crown alleges.
The first complainant, Mr A, who was a teen at the time of the alleged offending, told a police interviewer he was sexually assaulted after attending two high-profile events with the influencer in 2016 and 2017.
The influencer has denied the charges and is on trial at the High Court at Auckland.
During their friendship, the influencer had obtained nude photos of Mr A through the app Snapchat, the court heard.
“He had something over my head, he would always say, ‘I will destroy and can destroy you and make your life a living hell’,” Mr A told police.
The influencer used the photos to force the defendant into sexual acts, the court heard.
“I gave in to what he wanted to do,” Mr A said.
Crown prosecutor Jacob Barry alleges the influencer sexually assaulted two young men multiple times.
On Wednesday, defence lawyer Emma Priest cross-examined Mr A, going through numerous text messages between him and the defendant.
She suggested the pair were more than friends and had exchanged flirtatious messages.
But Mr A said they were never in a relationship, despite the influencer telling others they were.
Mr A said he sent kisses and hugs in messages to everyone.
The defendant was a “really nice guy” sometimes, Mr A said: “He was a good friend.”
However, their relationship could be “quite volatile”, he said.
Mr A was asked why he sent naked photos to the influencer.
Priest suggested it was because he hoped to be in a relationship with him.
Mr A said it was because the influencer threatened him. However, Priest said Mr A never told police that.
The trial, before Justice Christine Gordon and a jury, continues.