Giving evidence in the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday,Mr Roberts-Smith replied “absolutely not” when asked by his barrister,Bruce McClintock,SC,if he had hit the woman.
“That particular allegation,I feel,coupled with being called a war criminal,has ruined my life,” he said. “For a long time I found it very difficult to leave the house after that.”
He said domestic violence was “morally reprehensible” and his parents had instilled in him a “very good set of values”. He had no tolerance for anybody who would raise a hand to a woman,he said.
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The woman,known as Person 17 to protect her identity,had been “extremely intoxicated” after a dinner at Parliament House in Canberra,the former Special Air Services soldier said,and had fallen down a flight of stairs.
He said he iced the resultant bump on her head after putting her to bed in their room at the Hotel Realm.
The woman subsequently texted Mr Roberts-Smith that her husband “didn’t believe that I had fallen down stairs” but added that her other bruises would “hopefully make the falling story more believable”.