Warning: This article discusses sexual assault.
A man who says he was indecently assaulted by a prominent Auckland businessman has described a "strange", "uncomfortable" and "creepy" evening at the man's house.
The accused, who has name suppression, is on trial at the High Court for three charges of indecent assault and two of attempting to dissuade a witness by offering bribes of money and future work opportunities.
On Monday morning, the court heard from one of the men who alleges he was assaulted at the accused's home in 2008. He was invited to the house one evening to explore a potential business opportunity.
The witness, who has name suppression, says the accused made him two gin and tonics before telling him he was to stay for dinner.
"I didn't particularly want to stay for dinner," the witness told the court.
After a meal and "one to one and a half" glasses of wine, he recalled how the accused took him on a tour of the house. The pair ended up in the man's bedroom.
"At this point I was beginning to feel dizzy; I was beginning to feel nauseous; I felt like I was starting to have less control over my body."
The man alleges he was drugged.
He told the jury he was feeling uncomfortable and the accused was "creeping me out".
"It was one of those moments you experience in life where every cell in your body is saying it's time to go."
He told the court the man assaulted him as he walked out of the room.
He "came up behind me and put his hand on my backside and squeezed it".
"I just froze."
The witness said the man made a comment about his backside and started to kiss the back of his neck. At this point, he left the room and tried to find a phone to call a taxi. After he'd caught a cab home, he began vomiting.
"I believed that I had been drugged," he told the court.
The pair never had contact again and the man didn't go to police until almost a decade later, after he'd learned similar charges had been laid against the accused.
The accused denies all charges against him.
During cross-examination, defence lawyer David Jones QC accused the witness of making details in his evidence up and questioned just how much alcohol he'd had that night.
