A former MMA fighter accused of the attempted rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend has claimed he couldn’t have assaulted her because she has a career in the adult film industry.
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, who legally changed his named to War Machine, appeared in a Las Vegas court on Tuesday to face 34 charges in relation to an alleged attacked on then girlfriend Christine Mackinday.
Koppenhaver’s defence lawyer Brandon Sua claims that the pair met on the set of an adult film and had engaged in consensual rough sex during their relationship. He also said that Mackinday’s work in the porn industry suggested consent.
Mr Sua also claimed her performances indicated “the desire, the preference, the acceptability towards a particular form of sex activities that were outside of the norm”.
Responding to the claims, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacqueline Bluth who is acting as Mackinday’s lawyer, said her client’s choice in work should not determine her safety in a relationship:
“Because she consented to those acts through her course of employment does not mean the defendant is then entitled to think he can do that to her.”
According to The Independent, the judge asked Mr Sua for a written motion detailing the sexual relationship between Mackinday and Koppenhaver.
Following the alleged attack, Mackinday was hospitalised with a lacerated liver, 18 broken bones and two missing teeth.
On the night in question, Koppenhaver has been accused of letting himself into Mackinday’s home, and physically beating her friend Corey Thomas before sexually assaulting Mackinday herself.
Mackinday immediately dialed 911, leaving the phone beside the bed throughout the incident.
During court proceedings, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacqueline Bluth told the judge: “Judge, for the record, Mr Koppenhaver just blew a kiss at me.”
Koppenhaver has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
