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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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The Gisborne Herald A man who served 18 months in jail for rape has been acquitted at a retrial in the High Court at Gisborne. The Crown said Joseph Quintin Donnelly, 43, raped a woman in an alleyway between Belfast Crescent and Cambridge Terrace on the night of June 17, 2004. But a High Court jury found him not guilty after deliberating for two hours. Compensation for Donnelly, in jail for 18 months before a retrial was granted in July 2007, could be an issue, said counsel Charles Hirschfeld. Crown prosecutor Russell Collins said a condom was found at the scene by police two days after the alleged attack. Forensic tests showed it was 100,000 million times more likely that it was used by Donnelly, than any other random male New Zealander. Counsel Chris Tennet said the condom provided no scientific link to the complainant. Donnelly might have been framed through negligence or dishonesty. The way the condom was found was very important, said Mr Tennet. Mr Collins said police returned to the scene of the alleged attack the following day, late in the afternoon, searching for evidence such as beer bottles, clothing and disturbed ground. At that stage they did not know a condom had been used. Police returned to the site the next day, in broad daylight, after being told a condom had been used. The condom was found in the "indicated area" of the attack, said Mr Collins. The woman was a distant relative of Donnelly but did not initially identify her attacker to family, friends or the police. "Simply - she was scared," said Mr Collins. The woman was not a stranger to Donnelly, said Mr Tennet. She knew him and Donnelly's brother was close to her family and "very antagonistic". Mr Hirschfeld said the defence position was very clear and unequivocal. Joseph Donnelly had been falsely accused of rape, he said. "Bearing in mind that the defence advanced a position that went well beyond the bounds of simple denial and indeed to the extent of submitting to the jury that Joseph Donnelly had been framed. "In the end, the facts speak for themselves." The jury was out for a little under two hours and returned a verdict of not guilty. The trial was before Justice Keane.
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