By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT —An Australian farmer who fled the U.S. after being accused of raping a woman in a New York hotel room is set to stand trial.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday.
David Green, now 29, was charged with raping the 21-year-old woman at the Affinia Hotel, near Penn Station, in August 2005. Prosecutors said the alleged victim woke up to find Green on top of her, although "she did not consent in any way."
Green, who lived on his family's farm in Australia, and a group of friends he had been traveling through North America with were visiting New York before their return home.
In a statement provided to authorities, Green admitted to "fooling around" with the woman but insisted he never raped her and that any contact between them was consensual after a night of drinking at a local bar.
The alleged victim reported her complaint to police immediately after leaving the hotel room in the morning and Green was arrested and released on $7,500 bail.
The case is so delayed because Green flew home when he was released and was not apprehended until 2009, when he was reapplying for a passport.
His lawyer said he was scared and did not believe he'd done anything illegal when he fled the country with the open felony charge.
Green faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
