The mother of a 14-year-old boy has broken down in court as she recalled how her son could not stop crying when he told her he had been raped by a woman more than three times his age.
She took the stand on Thursday to testify in the NSW District Court trial of her son’s alleged abuser, a 46-year-old social media influencer who cannot be identified.
The woman has pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16.
She is accused of sneaking into the teen’s bed one night in early 2021 and having oral and penetrative sex with him.
The mother of a 14-year-old boy has broken down in court as she recalled how her son could not stop crying when he told her he had been raped by a woman more than three times his age.
More than a year after the alleged assault, the court heard the teenager burst into tears and told his mother he had been raped.
“He was in the living room and suddenly he completely burst into tears,” she told the court, sobbing.
“I’ve never seen him cry like that.”
Her voice cracked with emotion as she told the jury that her son was “tearing” and “couldn’t control himself.”
When his mother comforted him and asked what was wrong, the 14-year-old kept repeating, “You don’t understand.”
“He went on to tell me that he had been raped and I just lost it,” she told the court, her voice shaking.
“He was just so devastated. I was so devastated.’
At one point, the boy’s mother was overcome with emotion and had to leave the courtroom to collect herself.
Crown prosecutor Emma Blizard asked her to clarify whether her son had used the word “raped” or whether it had been her choice of words.
“He said the word raped again and said she came in and raped him,” the mother confirmed through tears.
“He sobbed, I sobbed, we would have cried for hours. It was horrible.’
The mother took the stand on Thursday to testify in the NSW District Court trial of her son’s alleged abuser, a 46-year-old social media influencer who cannot be identified
After encouragement from his mother, the teen revealed that the woman gave him “a few glasses of wine” one evening in early 2021 and they danced together.
He told his mother that the 46-year-old woman later sexually assaulted him.
The woman’s lawyer, Phillip Boulten SC, previously told jurors that the influencer had admitted kissing the teenager while he was drunk, but denied going further.
In his opening statement, he emphasized that the teenager’s sexual abuse allegations arose after he got into trouble at school on Friday and feared he would be suspended.
On Thursday, Mr Boulten asked the boy’s mother about a statement she made to police in which she said he told her about the allegations on a Thursday in mid-2022.
The court heard the teenager got into trouble on Friday and was picked up by his mother before he told her about the alleged assault on Saturday afternoon.
The mother acknowledged that it had been “a mistake” to attribute the emotional revelation to the day before her son got into trouble at school, rather than the next day.
She noted that she had not included details of the teen’s school problems in her initial statement, but told the court that she had corrected both errors in an amended version.
Earlier on Thursday, a teacher at the teenager’s school told the jury his teachers were “worried” about him.
“He said he had insomnia for the past month,” one of the teachers wrote in an email.
When questioned by a nurse, the teen admitted he had been “very stressed” in recent weeks.
He got into trouble and was picked up from school by his mother on Friday, a day before he broke down in tears and told her about the sexual assault allegations.
The trial continues Friday before Judge Sarah Hopkins.