<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As a 76-year-old lay sleeping peacefully in her bed hours after a new year ticked over, she was awoken and allegedly raped by a man more than half her age.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 31-year-old accused of the sexual assault is Hayden Carl Skinner, a drug user living in the NSW north coast town of Coffs Harbour.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At an aged care facility in the town in the early hours of January 1, 2024 Skinner scaled a fence, crossed a courtyard and slid open the unlocked door to his alleged victim's room.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-weather-update-summer-starts-with-east-and-west-split/5c37f81b-8e42-44bb-95d8-b9b2c5c9517e" target="_blank"><strong><span>Aussie city on the brink of scorchingly hot record</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As a District Court judge-alone trial commenced in Coffs Harbour today, he admitted breaking into the 76-year-old's room but pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Public defender Peter Pearsall said his client had no intention of sexually assaulting anyone but was rather motivated for financial reasons.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He was a drug user, he had a drug debt and he was under pressure to satisfy that debt," he told Judge Michael McHugh.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/coffs-harbour-drug-user-hayden-carl-skinner-denies-new-year-aged-care-rape/b4298715-89d4-4c62-aa12-1818e7afa670" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/australia-money-health-insurance-extras-disappear/cc141f2b-167e-41e9-bdef-bf99789672ee" target="_blank"><strong><span>Millions of Aussies have just weeks to claim huge benefits</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Skinner allegedly raped the victim, who was in the centre because of poor physical health rather than for any mental health conditions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He is accused of removing her pants, underwear and incontinence pad before sexually assaulting her.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He then fled the scene.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The alleged victim was found by a nurse outside her room naked from the waist down, crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell SC told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Skinner's DNA was found on the woman's pants which police located on the floor near her bed, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When examined at the Coffs Harbour base hospital, the 76-year-old was seen with bruising to her inner thighs and an abrasion to her genital area.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This was consistent with her legs having been forced apart, Campbell said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had also made rape claims to the aged care centre's nurses, a paramedic, another resident and her son, he told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pearsall disputed the claims of rape, saying that when his client entered the room, the 76-year-old woke and grabbed him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/man-dies-in-sydney-crash-between-car-and-truck/2a00e0c7-fe93-4067-9172-120f01e38997" target="_blank"><strong><span>Man killed, two seriously injured, in crash on major Sydney road</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was a struggle without sexual contact before Skinner escaped, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police found the 31-year-old's palm prints on the scene and he was arrested on January 4, 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He has been on remand since.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 76-year-old had since passed away due to causes unrelated to the alleged sexual assault, Judge McHugh heard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The trial continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028</span></strong></div></div>