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Allegations of Abuse
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Tea Ropati - League Star accused
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Stuff
Sunday Star Times VERDICT IN: former Kiwis rugby
league star Tea Ropati has been found not guilty on six sex charges. Former Kiwis rugby league test player
Tea Ropati was today found not guilty of six sex charges, including rape. The seven men and five women on
the jury, who retired at 1pm yesterday, delivered their verdicts on the
eighth day of the Auckland District Court trial, after almost 12 hours of
deliberations. Ropati, 42, had denied three
charges of sexual violation, including one count of rape, and three charges
of attempted sexual violation. The charges arose from incidents
at a Ponsonby bar and at Victoria Park in the early hours of June 15, 2006,
involving a female complainant who was 36 at the time. The crown argued that Ropati took
advantage of the woman, who was so intoxicated that she could not have
consented to sexual activity with him. The defence denied that a rape
occurred because Ropati stopped short of having full sex with the woman as he
felt guilty on account of his wife, and said the sexual activity that did
take place was consensual. It was standing room only in the
packed court room when the jury returned to give its verdicts. Ropati's wife, Vanessa, who had
given testimony on behalf of her husband during the trial, sat at the back
with a supporter on each side holding her hands. The verdicts, given one after the
other, were greeted intially with silence, although Mrs Ropati broke out in a
smile of relief after the first few of the not guilty announcements. But immediately after the final
verdict, there was pandemonium as Ropati's supporters erupted with a loud
shout of "yes" and some in the gallery sobbed. One of his brothers, broadcaster
Peter Ropati, called out that the case had been "absolute rubbish". "Right from the start, it
should not have been," he said. Judge Phil Gittos warned that he
would clear the court room unless there was silence. Outside the court room, tensions boiled
over with one of Ropati's supporters slapping the face of a photographer. Ropati showed little emotion while
the verdicts were read out, but at the end clasped his hands in an offer of
thanks to the jurors. Outside the court room, he hugged
his wife and their baby. Ropati later made a brief
statement to media. "I want to thank my family
and all my friends," he said. "Without them I would not
have been able to cope throughout all of this. I'm just pretty relieved that
it's all over." Ropati is due back in court
tomorrow to face a separate charge of driving under the influence of alcohol
on New Year's Day. In a written statement read out by
defence counsel Gary Gotlieb, Ropati said he knew he had to address ongoing
issues with alcohol. |
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