Rape trial of competitive bull rider Clay Hall hears closing arguments

The trial of competitive bull rider Clay Benjamin Hall, who is charged with the alleged rape of a teenage girl, has heard closing arguments from the prosecution and defence.Warning: This article contains details of alleged sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.The court was told Mr Hall met the girl, who was in her late teens at the time, on a street in Warwick, about 160 kilometres south-west of Brisbane, in the early hours of October 2021.Prosecutors allege Mr Hall, now 26, raped the teenager after she offered to show him a shortcut to the Warwick Showgrounds.The court heard the girl had been drinking and had attended a house party with people she did not know before meeting Mr Hall.Mr Hall was in Warwick to watch his brother compete at the Warwick Rodeo. The court heard he was not competing because of an injury and had also been drinking before walking to a service station to buy food in the early hours of the morning.Crown says case centres on consentIn her closing address, Crown prosecutor Samantha O'Rourke told the jury the key issue in the trial was whether the girl had consented."He [Mr Hall] had struck out at the rodeo and he wanted sex, when she didn't, he did it anyway," Ms O'Rourke said.Clay Benjamin Hall has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)Ms O'Rourke said Mr Hall introduced himself to the girl, showed her his Instagram page and was then offered to be shown a shortcut back to the rodeo grounds."There was no kissing, no hand holding, nothing romantic in the build-up," Ms O'Rourke said.The prosecutor told the jury the pair walked past the girl's home and through a gap in a fence towards the showgrounds before Mr Hall sexually propositioned her.Ms O'Rourke said instead of outright saying no, the girl said she needed to pee as a "subtle non confrontational way" to rebuff Mr Hall.Ms O'Rourke told the court that Mr Hall remained persistent."Every woman's deep-seated fear became [the girl's] reality," she said.She said Mr Hall raped the girl against a tree, both vaginally and anally.Defence says consent was givenDefence barrister David Jones KC told the jury it was not in dispute that Mr Hall and the girl had vaginal sex but rejected the allegation that anal penetration had occurred.The jury was shown a recorded police interview conducted with Mr Hall in 2023, about two years after the alleged incident, where he said he propositioned the girl and initially received no response."She kinda didn't say anything, she was just quiet, and I said that's alright I can leave," Mr Hall said."She said, 'Nah it's alright.' I said we can do something or I can leave."When she said yes, we started to touch each other."The trial has been heard at Warwick District Court. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)The court heard Mr Hall tell police he asked the girl to bend over against a tree before they had sex. He said the encounter lasted about 10 to 15 seconds before she began crying."We started, then she started crying and I did stop," Mr Hall said."I said, 'What's wrong? She said, 'I don't know.' I said, 'OK, I'm going to go back to the rodeo grounds.'"So, I walked off one way, and she walked off in the other direction."Mr Jones said the police investigation was incomplete because while the girl was tested for alcohol, recording a blood alcohol concentration below 0.1, she was not drug tested while in hospital.Boxing trainer calledThe court also heard evidence from the girl's boxing trainer, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, who said she called several times on the night of the alleged incident."She was in tears really bad," the trainer said."I asked if she is OK; she said she had been raped."The trainer said they remained on the phone with the girl before locating her and driving her to hospital."I found her sitting under a streetlight with her knees tucked up crying," the trainer said."I helped her up, she cried on my shoulder. I asked her if she wants to go the hospital or to the police. She said hospital."The trainer was questioned about several phone calls the girl made earlier in the night, including while she was walking with Mr Hall and during discussions. The trainer said the phone was muffled as though the girl was holding it by her side and could hear her talking with a man before the call hung up. The trainer also told the court the girl had said she had a "significant sexual encounter" while she was at the house party earlier in the evening.The girl said she could not recall the encounter, telling the trainer about it and did not mention it to the police. Mr Jones said this cast doubt over the reliability of her testimony. The prosecution told the jury the fact the girl had called the trainer several times while she was with Mr Hall was the "the most compelling" evidence in the case."She tries to call someone who can help her, who can hear what's happening," Ms O'Rourke said."But it doesn't work, this man catches what she's doing and so she's left on her own."