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Allegations
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Jurors considering the
fate of four men charged with pack-raping a woman at Mt Maunganui 16 years
ago have been told to avoid making a moral judgment. The men say the woman
was a willing partner in a group-sex session. Justice Ron Young told
the jury in the High Court at Wellington that they were not in a court of
morals. The jury retired to
consider its verdicts at noon yesterday. At 9.30pm, it retired to a hotel for
the night. Four men, aged 40, 46,
47 and 53, are charged with abduction and rape. One faces an extra rape
charge, and he and another of the accused face two extra charges of sexual
violation by unlawful sexual connection. The men have pleaded
not guilty. Key details in the
trial have been suppressed. The woman, now 37, said
that in January 1989 she was lured to a beach hut on the pretext of having
lunch with one of the men and was raped there. The men say she sought sex and
was a willing partner. Summing up, Justice
Young said credibility and the reliability of witnesses were at the heart of
the case. If the jury believed,
or thought reasonably possible, the men's evidence in court and statements
the men gave police earlier, then the accused should be acquitted. If not, jurists had to
decide if they believed the woman's evidence, and whether it proved the legal
ingredients of the charges. Just because the events
happened 16 years ago was no reason not to give it the same consideration as
if it happened yesterday, Justice Young said. The lawyer for the
youngest accused, Rachael Adams, said the woman had lied to the jury. She
said the evidence of the woman and the accused could not be reconciled and
were not the result of a misunderstanding. The woman relished and
needed centre stage and in giving evidence she achieved celebrity status, Ms
Adams said. She showed none of the
genuine distress that would be expected of a rape victim reliving the trauma.
In contrast, the
accused showed no sophistication or pretence giving evidence, Ms Adams said. The other lawyers gave
their final addresses last week. |
