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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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A jury has retired to consider the
fate of a Palmerston North man charged with raping and threatening to kill. Trevor Ernest Connolly, 47, is
accused of raping a woman in March 2003. The Crown says he apologised for the
rape in a taped conversation with his alleged victim and it presented a tape
as evidence, in Palmerston North District Court. On the tape, the complainant asked
Connolly about a night when he forced her to have sex against her will and he
was heard to apologise, saying what he did was wrong. However, defence lawyer Mike
Antunovic told the jury in his closing submission that the tape was a set-up
and his client was not admitting rape. "This is a false
complaint," Mr Antunovic said. "(The complainant) is simply not
credible and her account is unreliable and inconsistent. It is unsafe to
convict on her evidence." The complainant had only made the
rape complaint last year because of a Family Court case, Mr Antunovic said.
Her reason for not laying the charge earlier was because of her fear of Connolly,
which Mr Antunovic said was "utter nonsense". Crown prosecutor
Deborah Davies said the tape was clear evidence of Connolly's guilt. She told
the jury the tape was the best tool they could want to determine their
verdict. |
