A Supreme Court jury trial is underway against 46-year-old Sisituutuumata Fulivai. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged sexual assault.
The man alleged to have held a woman captive while beating and raping her took the stand in his trial to claim he was the victim of assaults by her, attacks that occurred when home invaders trashed his house.
But Sisituutuumata Fulivai admitted that once these alleged intruders left, he filmed a video of the naked woman in which he yelled at her and made comments like how he was “the most ruthless f-ker” and “the most ruthless in Canberra”.
The 46-year-old Tongan has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges in his ACT Supreme Court jury trial.
It is alleged he held the woman captive at his home in Lyneham for two days in June 2024 while he raped and repeatedly assaulted her before she was able to fight her way out and fled, naked, into the street.
The woman, aged in her mid-20s, told police she thought she was going to die in the house.
Mr Fulivai testified on Wednesday (25 February), telling jurors he met the woman when a mutual friend brought her and another person to his home that weekend to consume drugs and alcohol. He used marijuana, while the others used this as well as the drugs ‘ice’, ‘G’ and alcohol.
He claimed the woman stayed at his home and smoked drugs all weekend after the others left while he “chilled out” and watched television. But he warned her not to open the door to anyone.
“I had a warrant out for my arrest at the time, so I was really worrying about the police taking me in,” he said.
He claimed that on the Sunday night, the woman started talking about sex and how using the drug ‘G’ would help a man get an erection.
“I was just listening to it like a documentary,” he said.
He said he had erectile dysfunction, for which he was ridiculed by his mates, and wondered if the drug would assist with this issue.
He claimed the woman offered him ‘G’ and he took it before she asked if he wanted to have sex. But while they went to the bedroom and took their clothes off, he couldn’t get an erection and passed out.
Mr Fulivai alleged he woke up early the next morning to find two balaclava-wearing intruders rummaging through his lounge room before they charged at him.
He retreated into his bedroom, asked the woman to help him and shut the door while the intruders screamed abuse and tried to get in.
“I’d say [to the intruders], ‘Where’s your humanity? We’ll talk this out, just take what you want’,” he said.
But he claimed the woman got up and assaulted him, including standing on a table to kick him in the head, hitting him with his mother’s crutch and stabbing him with a screwdriver.
He said he hit and shoved her to get her away from him, and they wrestled, but she was stronger than him. When they stopped, the intruders had left and his house had been smashed up.
In cross-examination, he admitted to filming a video of the woman while questioning her, in which he called her names, accused her of being promiscuous and made comments referring to himself in third person, like, “How many times did Matty tell you he’s going to lose his temper now?”
Jurors heard the woman said she was introduced to him as “Matt” or “Matty”.
“You were yelling at her in that video to scare her,” prosecutor Marina Lucero told him in the courtroom.
He agreed, saying he was “out of line” and was still “under the influence of G”.
“In the heat of the moment, I was upset, I was angry,” he said.
“I’m very disgusted at myself.”
He claimed they went to sleep, but the next day, the still-naked woman tried to stab him with a knife, so he used items around the house, like a mirror and a mannequin, to block the attacks and shove her out the door.
Once she was outside, he told her to leave, or he would call the police. But he said a police officer later “kicked the door open” and arrested him.
“I said ‘I’m the one who’s been assaulted here’,” he said.
When, during cross-examination, Ms Lucero asked if he used the drug ‘ice’ that weekend, he said, “I believe I may have”.
Ms Lucero also alleged the video showed the woman begging to be let out of the house.
“I felt that at the time it was wrong of me to kick her out because it was cold,” he said.
He denied choking, assaulting or ever having sex with the woman.
“By no means was I violent. Aggressive, but not violent,” he said during cross-examination.
“This was self-defence.”
Mr Fulivai’s charges include 11 counts of assault, four counts of choking, three counts of making a threat to kill, as well as single counts of sexual intercourse without consent and unlawful confinement.
The trial continues before Justice Belinda Baker.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT on 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.
If you have been affected by sexual violence, or someone you know has, you can report it to police by attending a police station or phoning 131 444.
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