A teenager told the court she watched as her 14-year-old friend was raped and groped by a group of men.

All four defendants — aged between 19 and 21 — have denied a charge of serious sexual assault on July 27 of last year. One of the defendants, aged 20, is additionally accused of supplying the victim with alcohol in order to use her for sexual purposes.

The victim told the court last week she was coerced by the men into drinking liquor in the back yard of one of the defendant’s homes. She said she was subsequently raped by two of the accused, while an unnamed male not before the court forced her to perform oral sex.

Neither the defendants, the victim or her friend who witnessed the incident can be identified for legal reasons.

As the trial continued yesterday, a friend of the witness told the court that on the day of the attack she and the victim had spent the day together, shopping in advance of the Cup Match holiday. Throughout the day, the teenagers were in contact with one of the defendants (“A”) via WhatsApp, who invited them to his home.

That evening, she said they decided to go night swimming at Warwick Long Bay. They told the defendant, who offered to pick the pair up. The girls agreed and walked to a nearby bus stop.

Defendant A and another man, who she identified as another defendant (“B”), picked them up on a pair of motorcycles. The victim rode on the same bike as defendant A, while the witness rode with defendant B.

While she told the court said she assumed they were still going to the beach, the defendants instead drove them to defendant A’s home in Sandys.

Shortly after they arrived, the defendants went behind the house and returned with three other men, including one whom the witness identified as a third defendant (“C”).

The group all went behind the house and sat beneath a tent, with the victim sitting on defendant A’s lap. The defendant then picked up a bottle of rum from the ground and began to pass it around the group.

“At first [the victim] said she couldn’t drink,” the witness said. “But she eventually drank it.”

The bottle was passed around the group several times, with the witness saying both she and the victim having several drinks from it. After four drinks, she said the victim and defendant A began to kiss. When the bottle next returned to the witness, she said she declined the drink, but the victim did not.

“I said to her she was going to get tapped [drunk],” the witness said. “[Defendant A] said you can’t get tapped [drunk] off one bottle. She drank it again.”

Not long after that the bottle was emptied and the witness said the group stood to leave. She told the court that she began to walk away, but turned around because she didn’t want to leave her friend.

When she did, she saw defendant A, who was holding the victim, put her on a lounge chair, which the other men crowded around.

The witness said she turned to leave during the incident but was approached by defendant C who asked her why she was going. She told the court: “I said I’m leaving because I don’t want to see you lot rape my friend.”

She stayed a short while longer, but did eventually walk to the main road where she attempted to contact her sister. While waiting, she said defendant A rode up to her on his motorcycle and said: “Don’t leave your friend. She’s done now.”

He then rode away, returning around 20 minutes later with the victim on the back of his bike.

“Her eyes were red,” the witness said. “She was bawling. Crying louder and harder than she was.”

The pair then took the last bus to the witness’ sister’s home. Later that evening, she said they were both were taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and later the Hamilton Police Station.