© Getty ImagesWikileaks founder Julian Assange is said to have told his alleged victim in Stockholm: 'Sweden is a good country to have kids in'
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a woman he stands accused of raping that he wanted to impregnate her and other 'virgins', a court heard yesterday.
The 40-year-old is said to have told his alleged victim in Stockholm: 'Sweden is a good country to have kids in.'
The High Court in London heard yesterday that Assange had a 'strange' discussion with the museum worker and she later awoke to find him having unprotected sex with her.
The Australian is accused of saying he 'wanted to impregnate women' and that he 'preferred virgins because he would be the first to impregnate them'.
The former computer hacker is also accused of 'violently' forcing himself on another woman in Stockholm.
He is now appealing against a district judge's decision to extradite him to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual molestation relating to two women.
Yesterday the Court of Appeal heard that the women did not consent to sex with Assange, which happened in August 2010 after he visited Sweden to give a lecture.
Clare Montgomery QC, prosecuting, acting for the Swedish authorities, said of the women: 'They describe circumstances in which they do not freely consent without coercion... either by physical force or by a sense of having already been in a position whereby they felt they had no choice.'
© unknownAlleged victims: The two women were named in court only as AA and SW
Miss Montgomery said the first woman, named in court only as AA, had been a victim of 'coercive violent sex' and was 'roughed up' after she allowed Assange to stay in her apartment - and threw a party in his honour.
Before the party, the woman excitedly wrote on social networking site Twitter that she was 'with the world's coolest people, it's amazing'.
Assange later ripped off her clothes, broke her necklace and lay on top of her, holding her arms so she could not move her hands before the pair had sex, it was alleged.
It is also claimed Assange deliberately broke a condom while they were having sex for a second time on August 13 last year.
© The Associated PressWikileaks founder Julian Assange leaves the Royal Courts of Justice after his extradition appeal was heard in central London yesterday
The court was told she rejected his sexual advances but four days later, Assange got half-naked and rubbed himself against her.
A second woman, known only as SW, who also allowed Assange to stay in her apartment after attending his talk, claimed she awoke to find him having unprotected sex with her.
The two women later found out that Assange had slept with them both in the same period.
SW said: 'He said things, like he wanted to get women pregnant.
© The Associated PressPublic backing: Supporters of Mr Assange protest outside the High Court
'He said he preferred virgins because it meant he would be the first to impregnate them.'
The court heard that the woman, who had previously had consensual sex with Assange, asked him what they would do if she got pregnant and he replied: 'Sweden is a good country to have kids in.'
But the court also heard that the woman felt 'railroaded' into reporting the attack to police and had only wanted to get Assange tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
A warrant was issued for his arrest in August last year.
Assange, who denies any wrongdoing, left the country eight days later after a prosecutor ruled there was no evidence of rape.
© The Associated Press Held: Ellingham Hall in Bungay, Norfolk, where Mr Assange is under house arrest
But another European Arrest Warrant was issued on September 1.
Since then Assange, who is currently under house arrest in Norfolk, has been fighting extradition to Sweden over the allegations.
Ben Emmerson QC, representing Assange, said that consent was given in both cases, adding that SW had become captivated by Assange when she saw him on TV and that she had consensual sex with him while 'half asleep'.
Yesterday Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Ouseley reserved their judgment in the case.
Assange says the allegations against him are politically motivated and could result in him being extradited to the U.S., where the government was rocked by his website's mass leaking of diplomatic cables.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter