An Australian man has appeared in court charged with raping or sexually assaulting seven women after luring them onto his yacht with the promise of a job as a liveaboard nanny.

John Collins is accused of drugging his victims before carrying out the attacks along Australia’s Gold Coast over a 14-year period between 1986 and 2000.

Collins is pleading not guilty to the 22 charges against him.

On the first day of the trial the prosecution told the court that two of the women fell pregnant and terminated their pregnancies. Prosecutor David Nardone said tests showed Collins was between 2,800 and 14,000 times more likely to be the father than any other man.

The court heard that the youngest alleged victim was a17-year-old girl who was offered a job as a liveaboard secretary on Pan Pacific. The prosecution alleges that she took just a couple of sips of champagne to celebrate the deal before Collins forced himself on her and raped her in the galley.

A number of women only came forward when they read about other victims in the newspaper, the court was told.

Police found one of the alleged women’s DNA on Collins’ razor when they searched Pan Pacific. They couldn’t find Collins at the time who fled after his yacht was searched, the Courier-Mail reports.

The case continues and is expected to run for a fortnight.