She told the court that on another occasion, she was at drinks with her colleagues at a local nightclub also managed by Burchell when he joined them.
Defence lawyer Alexander Mossop.Credit: Hannah Murphy
The woman at one point in the evening said he had bought her drinks, and then attempted to lean in for a kiss.
“I saw it happening and pulled away. I [yelled] ‘don’t you ever touch me you f—ing pig’,” she told the court.
The woman said she later returned home to staff accommodation, where Burchell again tried to touch her upper leg despite her pushing him away.
In cross-examination, the woman became emotional as defence lawyer Alexander Mossop pressed her on her claims.
Mossop told the court he had concerns about the woman’s alleged timeline and memory of the events, and questioned her motive for coming forward to police.
He alleged she had conspired with another complainant to make false complaints against Burchell, in a bid to sue the Roebuck Bay Hotel.
Mossop alleged the woman had been encouraged to make a complaint by another alleged victim.
The woman strongly denied the allegations, and said she had nothing to gain from making the complaint.
More complainants to come
State prosecutor Gary Huggins.Credit: Hannah Murphy
The woman was the first complainant to give evidence out of six other women.
State prosecutor Gary Huggins told the court a number of offences levelled against Burchell over the years were alleged to have occurred when the pub’s staff would go back and drink at their accommodation after work.
In another incident, a second complainant alleged she had been drinking with Burchell when the pair went back to a gathering at the staff quarters.
The state alleged the woman went to her room to grab a bottle of alcohol without realising Burchell had followed her and dead-bolted the door behind him.
Huggins alleged Burchell told the woman to “drop her pants”, and to “[touch herself] or you’ll lose your job”, but her phone rang, and she managed to excuse herself.
However, Huggins told the court Burchell continued to follow the woman, and asked her to let him have intercourse with her while on the phone.
She pushed him away and he allegedly grabbed her breast, before her friends intervened by banging on the door of her room.
A third complainant alleged the first time she met Burchell as her manager, he pulled her into a hug and squeezed her buttocks.
A fourth complainant alleged she had been drinking with friends when Burchell grabbed her breasts and made a lewd comment, which caused her to grab his own chest “to embarrass him”.
The Roey is home to WA’s only surviving wet T-shirt competition, and the fourth complainant alleged she was working the event when Burchell was judging, and he grabbed her from behind and pressed his erect penis against her buttocks.
A fifth complainant was a former employee of Burchell’s when she visited the pub dressed in a button-up shirt and a string bikini top.
Huggins alleged Burchell was talking to friends when he reached over and ripped the woman’s shirt open, pulled her bikini down and made a lewd comment before the woman left.
The most serious charge against Burchell is sexual penetration without consent, allegedly against a sixth complainant – an English backpacker who had come to work at the pub while applying for her working holiday visa.
“Mr Burchell was aware of her visa situation,” Huggins told the court on Tuesday.
The woman alleged Burchell’s attitude toward her changed after she experienced a break-up, and had returned home after a night of drinking to a property she was house-sitting.
The trial is being heard in Broome.Credit: Hannah Murphy
Huggins told the court Burchell came to the property uninvited and banged on the door until the woman let him in, before attempting to kiss her a number of times before she reminded him he was married with children.
Huggins alleged Burchell called the woman a tease and accused her of making excuses, before he raped her.
The woman continued working at the Roebuck Bay Hotel to keep her visa, but told a police officer friend about the incident, and they urged her to report it.
However, during opening addresses on Tuesday, Mossop told the court the woman’s relationship with Burchell was consensual, and the other counts of indecent assault “simply did not happen”.
Mossop told the court the case turned on the credibility of the complainants.
“You may ask yourselves what their motivation is for making these unfounded allegations,” Mossop said.
The trial is set down for two weeks.
