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Allegations
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NZ Herald All eight sexual offending charges against a man accused of raping an intellectually impaired woman were thrown out of court yesterday. The man, Mark Pearson, was 50 when he met the 21-year-old, who had a mental age of about 10, in late 2005. In early 2006, the woman moved in to the home he shared with his girlfriend. It was then the offending was alleged to have taken place. On Tuesday in the Auckland District Court, the woman's evidence proved contradictory, as she struggled to understand the meaning of many questions. She both admitted she had had sex with Pearson and, under questioning from defence lawyer Howard Lawry, admitted she had made the allegations up - at the behest of her father. Yesterday, Mr Lawry accused the woman's brother of fabricating evidence at his father's request. Mr Lawry said the father had sworn to "get back" at Pearson after his daughter had moved in with him, and that the charges were the threat's fruition. The woman's brother denied that claim, but following his evidence and a brief adjournment, the jury was told the trial was over. The defence had made an application under section 347 of the Crimes Act and Judge Christopher Field said that based on the state of the evidence, he had decided the trial would not continue. |
