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Allegations of Abuse
in NZ |
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Tea Ropati - League Star accused
of rape |
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Radio NZ The jury in the case of a former New Zealand rugby league international
player accused of rape has retired for the day. Tea Ropati, 41, has denied six charges of sexually
violating a woman in June 2006. Earlier, Judge Phil Gittos advised the jurors to put out of
their minds the fact that Mr Ropati is a league star and put aside any notion
of morals. The former Warriors and Kiwis international says he
engaged in consensual sexual activity with the 36-year-old complainant. The woman says she was too drunk to consent to sex, and an
honourable man would have recognised this. Mr Ropati's defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb says his client's
character and reputation has been sullied beyond belief, and the only thing
he has done wrong is cheat on his wife. The jury began its deliberations on Wednesday afternoon
and will resume on Thursday. |
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