|
|
Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
|
A prominent Stratford racing
worker has gone on trial in New Plymouth for the alleged rape of a woman
following a party last year. Michael "Mouse" Wilson
denied the single charge of rape which the Crown says happened after a heavy
night of drinking. The 41-year-old is the stable
foreman for respected Stratford horse trainer Dick Bothwell. Mr Bothwell was one of almost 40
supporters that packed the public gallery in the New Plymouth District Court
to support Wilson. Crown prosecutor Justin Marinovich
said the victim had been with a group of friends on February 22 last year
drinking at a flat before they went to a Stratford bar for a night of
karaoke. After leaving the bar the group
went back to the flat for a party and carried on drinking. The victim became ill and went to
bed but claims she woke up to find Wilson raping her while her boyfriend was
asleep in the lounge. Defence counsel Patrick Mooney
said his client did not deny sexual intercourse had taken place but he was
adamant it was consensual. The victim, who has permanent name
suppression, told the court that Wilson had first approached her in the bar
and told her she was "nice" and had "a nice smile". He then
tried to get up and sing with her. She said Wilson then turned up
late at the flat but fell asleep in a chair before she went to bed ill. "I woke up and someone was
having sex with me," she said. "He said `your boyfriend is out
there' and I kicked him off straight away." The victim said after Wilson left
she sat in the bedroom crying before unsuccessfully trying to wake her
boyfriend. Under cross-examination she
admitted she had been drinking jugs of whiskey and L&P during the
evening, as well as smoking cannabis. She denied she had invited Wilson back
to her boyfriend's flat for the party. She also denied she had woken up
and invited Wilson back to her bed, asked the accused if he had any money and
then wanted $100 as he left. Mr Mooney then questioned if she
really knew what had happened. "I know what happened, I
dream about it all the time," she said. The woman then admitted she had
gone back to the bar, where Wilson was a regular, just a week after the
alleged rape. "If this was rape, the last
person you would have wanted to see at that time was Mouse Wilson," he
said. The trial, before a jury and Judge
Allan Roberts, continues today. |
