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Allegations of Abuse
in NZ |
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Tea Ropati - League Star accused
of rape |
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Sunday Star Times Tony Wall looks back at the first
week of the rape trial of former Kiwis league star Tea Ropati. In a trial that had it all
celebrity, sex, drugs it was perhaps inevitable that someone would play the
race card. It happened on day two of the Tea
Ropati rape trial, which occupied the Auckland District Court all of last
week. The witness, a friend of the complainant, was a blonde, 30-something, public
relations type with all the right clothes and accessories, and a barely
hidden contempt for the accused. Defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb, whose
dapper, teddy-bear appearance belies his bulldog qualities, pulled the
witness up on her obvious dislike of his client. Gotlieb: "You clearly didn't
like Mr Ropati at all, did you?" Witness: "Absolutely
not." Gotlieb: "Not your type of
person?" Witness: "No." Gotlieb: "Wrong colour?" It seemed out of place in a New
Zealand courtroom and brought audible gasps from the public gallery, but the
witness, whose name was suppressed, didn't miss a beat. "It's nothing to do with
colour, it's all about the vibe," she shot back. Jury trials can be incredibly
boring, but exchanges like this, and witnesses that included retired sports
stars, PR people and fashion gurus, made for fewer dull moments. Ropati faces one count of rape,
two of sexual violation and three of attempted sexual violation. The basis of the Crown case is
this: that Ropati, 42, was on the prowl on the night of June 14, 2006, that
he attached himself to the complainant's group at the Whiskey Bar in
Ponsonby, that he took advantage of her drunken, almost comatose state,
attempted to sexually violate her in a back room and then took her in his car
to nearby Victoria Park and raped her while she was passed out. The woman claims she remembers
none of the alleged offending but alleges that she came to, saw an angry face
over her, was in extreme pain, and was given $40 by Ropati for a cab and told
"get the f--- out of my car". The defence says the 36-year-old
victim had been on a drink and drugs binge, smoking marijuana and snorting
cocaine, was intoxicated but in control and was a willing participant in the
sexual activity. According to evidence given,
Ropati told police he was being a "complete tit" for cheating on
his wife, but says he didn't do anything to the complainant that was against
her wishes. "The only thing wrong I have
done is what I have done to my wife." Ropati and his wife, Vanessa, had
married just four months prior to the alleged rape. She made a dramatic
appearance on Friday, dressed immaculately in a black, knee-length skirt,
white blouse, and high heels. She gave her husband a warm smile as she passed
him on the way to the witness stand, and talked about their "wonderful
romance". Ropati was misunderstood, she said. He was "cheeky"
and liked to "take the piss", but he was not the "macho,
stereotypical, scruffy league player" portrayed by other witnesses. He was
intelligent, well spoken, and fitted into any social situation. "He
breaks down stereotypes very quickly." Vanessa Ropati spoke about how she
and her husband had had a heated discussion about parenting on the night of
the incident and he had left to get some space. She had not sat through any of the
video evidence screened repeatedly throughout the trial, showing her husband
dancing with the complainant, kissing and groping her. The trial has revealed the extent
of the Big Brother world we live in, with almost every move made by Ropati,
the complainant and her group of friends captured on closed circuit cameras
outside the Whiskey Bar, in the main bar area and in the back room. Evidence was given by one of the
complainant's friends who, according to another witness, walked into the bar
that night, said "I'll have your most expensive bottle of champagne,
please", then, according to evidence, proceeded to get more drunk than
anyone else in the group. In court the complainant's friend
admitted flirting with Ropati and the CCTV footage showed she was oblivious
to a youth grabbing her handbag and running off while she stood outside
smoking. Her partner, who gave evidence
that he was sober on the night and had been dating her for only a couple of
weeks, said at one point that night he noticed Ropati with his hand down the
complainant's top and his other hand on his partner's thigh. He said it was
an "entanglement" that he "wasn't too excited about. I made a
mental note of it". Other members of the group,
including the woman Gotlieb accused of racism, had already left the bar. It is claimed that Ropati
approached the group outside the bar as they smoked cigarettes. One woman
gave evidence that "he sort of moseyed up in a sleazy way and stood
there moping". "He certainly didn't look like someone we would socialise
with." Another member of the group, a
prominent figure in the fashion industry, had her name suppressed for
"personal reasons". She also gave evidence that she took a dislike
to Ropati but said she hadn't recognised him. "I'm not interested in sports
players." The only member of the group who,
according to the evidence given, didn't seem to have a problem with Ropati
was well known fashion designer Adrian Hailwood, who immediately recognised
him and introduced him to the women. "He was quite pleasant, I talked to
him about rugby league and that was it really," Hailwood said. Gotlieb asked him if he was
excited to meet Ropati. "For sure," he said. Stacey Jones, Tawera Nikau and
Dean Lonergan, former Kiwis team-mates of the accused, took the stand to testify
that he was always respectful to women in social situations. The trial has also been remarkable
as one of the first to be run under the new Evidence Act, which gives jurors
the power for the first time to ask questions of witnesses. They took advantage
of this, sending a steady stream of messages to Judge Phillip Gittos. At one point they wanted to know
of a medical expert whether the signs of "blunt force trauma" to
the complainant's genital area and anus could be caused by "rough
sex". "It depends what you mean by rough sex," the expert
said. The matter was rather awkwardly left there. The trial will resume this week
with long-time league supporter the Mad Butcher, Peter Leitch, the last of
the defence witnesses. |
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