Stockholm ? A starry-eyed admirer was flattered to be invited to dinner with a man she considered a champion of free speech. Another woman supported the cause by lending her apartment to the same man, then returned early from her trip.

Both encounters resulted in sex. Now, after unleashing an unprecedented trove of U.S. government secrets, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is behind bars to answer questions about whether his conduct amounted to rape under Sweden’s unusually broad definition.

Sweden prides itself on gender equality and fairness, a tradition underpinning an interpretation of rape that often requires only a low level of coercion. A minor threat or force, such as pulling an arm, can be enough to result in charges. Sex with a person who is unconscious, drunk or asleep can be classed as rape.

Between heavily redacted Swedish police reports and details revealed Tuesday in a British court, a picture is emerging in which flirtation led to sex before the WikiLeaks founder allegedly crossed the line by refusing to use a condom and by having unprotected sex while a woman was asleep. The women’s names are redacted in the court documents.

Assange denies his actions amounted to rape, and his lawyers call the charges politically motivated. Under police questioning in Sweden on Aug. 30 about one of the accusations, the 39-year-old Australian confirmed the general outlines of the woman’s story but appeared to insist that all of the sexual contact was consensual.