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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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A man accused of raping a woman he
met on the internet put his head in his hands and cried as
the foreman of a jury in the Palmerston North District Court found him not
guilty last night. The 31-year-old Wellington man was
charged with one count of sexual violation and one count of rape following
his first meeting with the woman at her Palmerston North home on June 9 last
year. The man's name and occupation are
suppressed. The pair met on NZDating.com at
the beginning of June last year, swapping sexually explicit email, chat room
and text messages before arranging to meet at the woman's home on June 9. The man was introduced to the
woman's flatmate and sister before spending an hour-and-a-half alone together
in the woman's bedroom. The woman told the court during
this time the man forced himself on her, sexually violating then raping her. She said she was not restrained,
did not call out for help and "gave in" to the man's demands. He told police the pair kissed and
engaged in foreplay before having consensual sex. The man said when the woman told
him she felt uncomfortable because she had feelings for someone else, they
stopped and he left soon afterwards. Soon after leaving the man sent
her a text message that read: "I feel bad, sorry for raping you." The jury took three hours to reach
its verdict after retiring at 2.45pm yesterday. Earlier in the day, defence
counsel Val Nisbet called the man's psychiatrist to give evidence. Christopher Roman met with the
accused regularly since his arrest and explained to the court why he may have
sent the incriminating text message. "He tends to apologise
profusely and take responsibility for things that are not of his own
doing," Dr Roman said. He said the man avoided conflict
and took responsibility for awkward situations as a "coping
strategy". Dr Roman said he once tested his
observation by accusing the man of being late for an appointment when he was,
in fact, on time. He said the man apologised and
said it wouldn't happen again even though he knew he was not late. Under cross examination from Crown
prosecutor Andru Isac Dr Roman accepted there was a big difference between
admitting being half-an-hour late and admitting to raping someone. In his closing argument, Mr Isac
told the jury despite what communications the pair had leading up to the
meeting, the woman made it clear she did not want to have sex. Mr Isac said the text message the
man sent after the incident was an admission of what he had done. "That's not sarcasm. That's
not a fanciful personality characteristic of apologising for things he hadn't
done. "It's probably the most
honest thing he's said because he knew full well what he'd done. He knew full
well he did not have consent to do those things." In his closing argument, Mr Nisbet
said the woman regretted having sex with his client but what happened in her
bedroom that night was consensual. "You are not guilty of rape
because a woman reluctantly acquiesces. "She consented and when she
said stop and when she said no, it stopped." Mr Nisbet said the woman sent
explicit messages to the accused, even describing how she wanted to have sex
with him. "She had sex, may have been
reluctant to do so, and then regretted it afterwards. "It doesn't make it
rape." |
