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Allegations of Abuse
in NZ |
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Tea Ropati - League Star accused
of rape |
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The Dominion Post The woman who accused former rugby
league star Tea Ropati of rape says she is devastated by his acquittal but
does not regret coming forward. A jury of seven men and five women
at Auckland District Court found Ropati, 42, not guilty of six sex charges
yesterday after nearly 12 hours of deliberating. He denied three charges of sexual
violation, including one 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 complainant who was 36 at the time. The Crown argued that Ropati, who
had gone out drinking after an argument with his wife, took advantage of the
woman, who was so intoxicated that she could not have consented to sexual
activity with him. He was alleged to have attempted
to sexually violate her in a back room of the bar, then allegedly raped and
sexually violated her at the nearby park. The complainant said in a
statement after the verdict that the acquittal had ended "the most
challenging 18 months of my life". "While I am devastated by the
verdict, I have no regrets about coming forward and would still encourage any
woman who endures this type of experience to do so," she said. "This is the only way that we
can make sure that our society remains safe for women." The complainant also thanked
police who had been "exemplary in their approach to me personally and,
without their support, I would have found it very difficult to proceed". The verdicts, given one after the
other, were greeted initially with silence, though Ropati's wife, Vanessa,
broke into a smile of relief after the first few of the not-guilty
announcements. Mrs Ropati, who had given
testimony on behalf of her husband during the trial, sat at the back of the
court with a supporter on each side holding her hands. Ropati showed little emotion as
the verdicts were read out, but at the end clasped his hands in an offer of
thanks to the jury. 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. Later, outside the courtroom,
Ropati hugged his wife and their baby. Also outside, tensions boiled over
when a Ropati supporter slapped the face of a photographer. Ropati later made a brief media
statement: "I want to thank my family and all my friends. Without them I
would not have been able to cope throughout all of this. I'm just pretty
relieved that it's all over." He is due back in court today to
face an unrelated charge of driving under the influence of alcohol on New
Year's Day. In a written statement read out by
defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb, Ropati said he knew he had to address ongoing
issues with alcohol. - With NZPA |
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