A YOUNG woman obeyed the demands of a man accused of raping her out of fear, a court heard yesterday.
Michael Knight, 28, of Ballarat in on trial for allegedly raping the woman in an undercover car park in Camp St on April 1 last year.
The 20-year-old woman yesterday gave evidence via video link in the County Court in Ballarat.
The court heard the woman had left the George Hotel about 5am with friends and was later chatting to Knight at a taxi rank in Armstrong St, near Myer.
The woman said she agreed to walk to the other taxi rank in Lydiard St with him, but he later grabbed her roughly by the upper arm when she wanted to go back and find her friends.
"He just told me to keep walking with him,'' she said.
"I started to get a little bit scared and I just did what he said.''
The woman said Knight let go of her arm and took her hand before they entered a car park area in Camp St.
She said Knight told her to get down on the concrete ground and she obeyed instructions from him to roll over to her hands and knees.
"I was scared I didn't know what would happen if I didn't,'' she said.
The woman said she felt, "that it was going to happen whether I tried to get away or not''.
The court heard the woman kept telling Knight to stop and that she felt vulnerable and was crying.
Knight has pleaded not guilty to six counts of rape and one count of indecent assault.
The trial continues before Judge Graeme Crossley on Monday.