AN Illawarra man who claims he was paid to masturbate in front of Wollongong dentist Arthur Bosanquet under the false pretense of taking part in a university study has admitted he felt "grotty" afterwards but maintains he believed the study was legitimate, a court has heard.
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The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he was asked by Bosanquet to take part in the study - which he was told would help doctors develop a pill for people with high blood pressure to maintain an erection during intercourse - while the respected facial surgeon was treating him following an assault in late 2006.
He said Bosanquet told him he would be paid $150 to masturbate while blood samples were taken.
In Port Kembla Court on Monday, the man admitted he was desperate for cash at the time he performed the act, around February or March in 2007, but said he also believed Bosanquet when he said the study was genuine.
However, the man said he was immediately concerned when he arrived at an empty surgery about 5.30pm, and Bosanquet locked the front door behind them and led him to the dental chair.
"I looked at the windows to see if I could run [but] they had mesh on them, and I knew I couldn't get out the front doors as they were locked," the man told the court on the first day of the hearing last Friday.
"I thought, 'The only way I'm going to get out of here is to go through with it'."
However, the man conceded on Monday that he had consented to taking part in the act, despite his reservations.
"You didn't say to the doctor, I'm sorry, I'm not prepared to masturbate for you, I've rethought it?" Bosanquet's lawyer, Aaron Kernaghan asked the man.
"No," the man replied, claiming he was scared of what Bosanquet might do if he refused to co-operate.
However, Mr Kernaghan said the man was a willing participant in the incident.
"You let him put the needle in you ... not once but three times. He didn't masturbate you, did he? He didn't force you to become erect? You participated willingly, didn't you?" Mr Kernaghan said.
"Yes," he replied.
The man also accepted Mr Kernaghan's suggestion that his behaviour left his family unimpressed.
"They told you off?" Mr Kernaghan said.
"You'd been paid like a common rent boy [and] that's what you were made to feel [like], wasn't it?" Mr Kernaghan said.
"Yes," the man responded.
The hearing will resume at a later date.
