OAKLAND — A woman who said she was kidnapped but managed to escape in Berkeley earlier this year was questioned by her alleged kidnapper — a six-time convicted rapist — on Wednesday.

Sitting on the witness stand Wednesday at the Rene C. Davidson courthouse, victim “Jane Doe” testified against defendant Whittier Buck Buchanan, 60. In a bizarre scenario, because Buchanan is representing himself in his trial, he’s able to cross-examine the woman he allegedly kidnapped.

Buchanan is charged with kidnapping to commit a sex crime, assault with the intent to commit a sex crime and failing to register as a sex offender after an address change, following the events on May 2 in Berkeley.

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The woman, who looked mostly down behind her black thick-rimmed glasses, repeated the night’s events as the jury of seven men and five women listened. On the night of May 2, she was sitting on the front steps of her apartment around 2:30 a.m. on Shattuck Avenue and Berkeley Way after a night out drinking at a party nearby. After being dropped off by an Uber driver, she couldn’t find her house keys to get inside when Buchanan approached her.

Buchanan, who was convicted of six felony charges in one case in March 1996 of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, told her “it was unsafe” for her to be out on the street at that hour, took her by her elbow and convinced her to get into his van with him, she testified on Tuesday.

In his questions during cross-examination, he referred to himself as “the driver” and at least once “the defendant.”

She testified at first she thought he was an Uber driver, but soon realized in the van that he was not taking her to the nearby Safeway, where she was planning on meeting her father who had a spare key.

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She screamed when Buchanan told her she wasn’t getting out of the car, and he covered her mouth with his hand, she said. She testified that she then managed to get into the backseat, and offered to give him all her money to avoid getting hurt.

“I was frozen scared,” she said.

Buchanan allegedly told her to perform oral sex on him, Jane Doe testified.

Jane Doe said she agreed, and distracted him with a question if he had any sexually transmitted diseases as she tried to find a way to escape in the backseat. Eventually, she was able to climb out the window, although Buchanan allegedly covered her eyes and grabbed at her as she climbed out.

On Wednesday, Buchanan asked her several times if she had her cellphone in her hand, and if so, why she didn’t call 911. She responded that she didn’t remember where her phone was at the time and was trying to escape.

At one point during her cross-examination, Jane Doe began crying, tears streaming down her face, and her alleged kidnapper asked, “Are you OK?” She responded that she was fine, but then asked the judge to take a break.

The jury trial continues Monday morning.

Bay City News contributed to this report.