A Bedminster man who pestered an uninterested woman for sex raped her while she was fast asleep, a jury was told.
The woman claims she awoke to find Slawomir Pajak having intercourse with her in what was described as a "grotesque act of disrespect".
Though she initially bottled up what happened she reported the incident some two years later, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Pajak, 36, of West Street, denies a single allegation of rape.
Ian Fenny, prosecuting, told the court: "(The complainant) was not interested in consensual acts of sex.
"The defendant pestered her for sex."
Mr Fenny cited an occasion when the woman awoke to find Pajak abusing her.
He told the jury: "She had not consented to that act.
"She could not have consented because she was asleep.
"We say he would have known he was acting against her will.
"It was, you may think, a grotesque act of disrespect.
"She was immediately distressed but he carried on nonetheless.
"At the time she said nothing.
"She was effectively silent."
The jury heard how a year later the woman disclosed the rape to a counsellor before reporting it to police.
Pajak was arrested and made a statement denying rape.
Mr Fenny said the allegation amounted to "one person's word against another".
He told the jury: "We say she is truthful, accurate and reliable."
The case continues.
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