A woman who underwent an alleged illegal genital modification at a Newcastle West tattoo parlour in 2015 has told a Sydney court the procedure initially felt like "really hot barb wire" and she screamed out in pain.
Her yells prompted touring body modifier Howard Rollins to order the man allegedly performing the procedure - fellow body modification artist Brendan Leigh Russell - to get more anaesthetic from a nearby counter and issue instructions about when to continue with the excision, the woman told Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday.
Mr Rollins, a 42-year-old US citizen also known by the moniker Luna Cobra, is currently facing a two-week trial after pleading not guilty to being an accessory to a female genital mutilation in January, 2015.
Mr Russell is due to face a trial in August and will also face a manslaughter charge over an alleged unrelated body modification.
Mr Rollins, who faces up to 21 years behind bars if found guilty, accepts the procedure occurred but denies being in the room at the time of the excision and knowing exactly what kind of procedure was to occur, his barrister, Margaret Cunneen, SC, told Sydney Downing Centre District Court during her opening address on Tuesday.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described the instrument used to remove part of her external genitalia as a "branding iron" shaped like a pen. "I could feel the sensation, like someone getting barb wire. Really hot," she told the court on Wednesday.
"There are so many nerve endings there. I'm like 'that f---ing hurts'."
When she screamed in pain, Mr Rollins allegedly yelled "get some more anaesthetic" and instructed "we have to wait until it goes white" before starting again.
The trial is expected to hear a medical expert testify that a particular anaesthetic mixed with adrenaline can cause flesh to turn white.
Mr Rollins left after the procedure was complete, the woman alleged.
She then received her burned-off genitals in a coffee jar. "I know it sounds weird," she said.
The judge-alone trial continues.
