'I said Oh my God, what's she doing? She's going outside naked'

John Stonis testifies on Thursday that the rape case testifies the sex was consensual. (Rochester Voice photos)

DOVER - In a move no one saw coming, the East Rochester man accused in the violent rape of his longtime girlfriend took the stand in his own defense on Thursday, revealing a far different scenario that led to his arrest by Rochester Police.

Dressed in a gray suit, pink shirt and striped tie, John Stonis testified in calm, measured tones as he described what happened the night of Sept. 29, and into the early morning hours of Sept. 30, 2017, at the Gina Drive home he shared with the alleged 61-year-old victim.

Stonis, 31, is facing more than 40 years in state prison if convicted of rape, witness tampering and several simple assaults against the victim and two Rochester Police officers who responded to the scene around 1 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2017.

Under questioning from defense attorney Carl Swenson, Stonis said when he arrived home from a birthday party for his twin sons, his domestic partner was in bed watching TV with her dog.

He said she grew angry as soon as he walked in the door around 8:30 p.m., furious that she had not been invited to the birthday party.

"We had been fighting (for a while) cause I hadn't gotten her invited to the party," he said, explaining that his sons' marital grandparents who had taken custody of his boys after his former wife died did not approve of his new partner.

Stonis said he was tired after a hard day's work and the party, so he left the bedroom and took a shower before returning to see if she was in a better mood around 9 p.m.

She was still mad, he testified under oath, so he tried to cheer her up by asking her if she wanted to come into the living room for a drink of scotch whiskey he'd bought, which she agreed to.

He said he filled two glasses and noticed her words were slurred so he figured she'd already had a few beers.

After they'd both finished their drinks, she wanted another, but seeing she seemed a little tipsy, he urged her to at least put some ice in the glass.

"I suggested putting some ice in the glass and turned on a movie, but she went back in the bedroom to watch TV," he said.

Then around 11 p.m. he asked her if she wanted to something they often had come to do on a Friday evening.

"I went to the bedroom door and said, 'Are we still having sex?' and she said, 'Come on over.'"

Stonis, who sometimes rambled beyond the asked question during his testimony, was asked by Swenson what happened next.

"She wanted me to (perform a sex act) and I said no and went back into the bedroom," he testified.

Moments later he said she burst into the living room saying "How dare you, how dare you" and began hitting him on the shoulders and head.

"So I grabbed her hands and said 'Do you want to do it right here on the couch?'"

He said the couch was uncomfortable so they got on the floor and proceeded to have missionary vaginal sex.

He said during sex they would often use handcuffs, so because the handcuffs were in the bedroom, he held her hands up.

"Holding her hands up behind her head was part of the deal," he testified.

But this time she complained it hurt, he said.

"So I let go of her hands and proceeded to pull her shirt up," he said. "She complained I would rip her shirt," he testified, adding that tearing up their bed clothes was also part of their sexual ritual.

She then grew angry he said and backhanded his glass of scotch off the living room table, which angered Stonis.

"I said, "This whole relationship is going down south, we should see people our own age,'" he testified, adding, "I made the same comment a year prior."

"What did she do then?" Swenson asked.

"She said, 'I should call the cops on you.'

"I said I'm sick of this. Go ahead, call the cops."

Stonis then said he was using paper towels to blot up the wet spot where the scotch had spilt and watched in horror as she walked out the door with no clothes on.

"I said Oh my God, what's she doing? She's going outside naked," Stonis testified. "I figured she'd had a panic attack."

Minutes later he saw the police cruisers and blue lights.

"I left the door open and had another glass of scotch," he said. "I knew I'd be going to jail for the night."

He was arrested moments later.

Stonis, who also flatly denied there was any nonvaginal rape or sex as he is accused, faces cross-examination by prosecutors today followed by closing arguments before the jury begins its deliberations this afternoon.