New act not applicable in rape case—Judge

Press, 31 August 1977, Page 4

New act not applicable in rape case—Judge

H Supreme Court

A girl aged 18, who had just had sex with her boy-! friend, was allegedly raped by three men and after being interviewed by the police returned to a flat where she again had intercourse with her boyfriend and a short time later was allegedly raped by the same three men

.again, Mr Justice Somers and' •a jury were told in the Supreme Court yesterday. Wayne Maurice Crump, aged 20, Joseph James Ward, aged 25, and Darryl Ivor Wheeler, aged 17, have pleaded not guilty to charges of rape on April 13 and 14. Christopher Owen Melville Collins, aged 17, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of aiding and abetting rape. His Honour yesterday discharged Matthew James White, aged 21, on a charge of attempted rape, saying that there was no evidence from the girl to support a charge against him. The trial of the other accused is not now expected to finish until tomorrow.

His Honour ruled that the Evidence Amendment Act, 1977, which prevents the cross-examination of rape complainants about their previous sexual history, except with the leave of the judge after certain provisions are met, did not apply in this case.

Mr R. J. Murfitt appears for Crump, Mr D. J. R. Holdemess for Ward, Mr P. M. James for Wheeler and Mr P. H. B. Hall for Collins.

Mr D. J. Maze appeared for White.

Mr G. K. Panckhurst appears for the Crown. Cross-examined by Mr Murfitt, the girl complainant said that she was still on good terms with her boyfriend, Neville King. Her mother would not have disapproved of her spending the night in the flat. She admitted that she had been worried about what her mother would think about the circumstances in which the police had come to the flat.

The girl agreed that she had had sex with her boyfriend before the accused arrived on the first occasion and again after she had returned from the police station after the first alleged rapes.

On the previous day, the girl agreed, she had had sex with a man named Momo whom she did not know very well. She had been a willing party. When the accused first came to the flat they had discussed Momo. During that visit, the men had asked her to perform oral sex on two occasions and she had agreed both times because she thought that she would “get her head hit” if she did not. To Mr Holdemess, the girl said that she had lived at her boyfriend’s flat in Cashel Street for about three weeks, then they had broken up. She had then gone to the flat

daily to see her girlfriend: who also lived there for about three weeks. She got ; to know the occupants of the other flats.

When the police arrived at the flat after she had been raped the first time, she had not told them what had happened. She had not been expecting the police to come. She denied that she had told Momo and Ward when they visited her the previous day that they were welcome any timfe.

Before the taking of depositions on the present charges, she had met Ward at the Zetland Hotel. Her group and his had formed the one school and they drank together for some time. When Momo and Ward had left the flat the day before the alleged rapes, there had been some “carry on” about her jeans and panties. Her panties were stretched over a parking meter and her jeans stuffed in the letterbox of a neighbouring flat. She did not find the jeans until two days later.

At no stage when the men were allegedly raping her had she tried to slap them or scratch them with her fingernails. The police had not been called after she had been raped on the second visit.

To Mr James, the girl agreed that Wheeler was out of the bedroom for most of the time during the first visit but was there at one stage. She denied that she was suffering from venereal disease.

The girl denied that she had consented to having intercourse with the accused. When she saw the other girl who lived in the flat she had not told her that she had been raped because she did not like talking about it. If Alex Nelson iiad not called the police she would still have complained.

To Mr Hall, the girl said that Collins had left the room when her panties were being removed and he had not encouraged the others to do what they did. Collins had never touched her.

Detective A. O. Heney, of Invercargill, said that he questioned Ward, who had admitted that he was known as “Doc,” on May 2. He had made a statement, which he declined to sign, in which he said that he had gone to a flat in Cashel Street on April 13 where a girl lived who was known as “a big block.” He was told that the girl had “the clap” (venereal disease). He did not have intercourse with her on that occasion. Ward said in the statement that he returned to the flat about 5 a.m. on the same

night, with others. There was a man in bed with the girl and when he got out he made remarks implying that they had come to have intercourse with the girl. She had asked ;him (Ward) if he was going to get into bed with her. He (did not hit her.

Detective Heney said that Ward declined to sign the statement because he said that he did not sign statements. When he told Ward that he would probably be charged with rape, he had replied that it was “no rape.” Neville Paul Anthony King, aged 20, a sales assistant, said that the girl who allegedly raped was his girlfriend. She had decided to spend the night of April 13 at his flat.

Crump. War, Wheeler, and and another man had come into the bedroom. The girl had hardly anything on because they had just finished having intercourse. After an application by Mr Panckhurst, King was declared a hostile witness and Mr Panckhurst was given leave to cross-examine him about a statement he had made to the police. King said that one of the men had pulled the blankets off the bed. When one of the men had ripped her panties off, the girl had said: "Get out, you bastard.” He (witness) left the bedroom.

On the arrival of the police, the four men had left the flat by the back stairway. Witness had not tried to stop them doing anything because there were four of them.

In the early hours of April 14, Crump, Ward, Wheeler, and Collins had come to the flat and when he let them in Ward had asked witness if he was the one who had “called the cops.” They went into the bedroom where Alex Nelson was asleep and Collins had questioned Nelson about calling the police. At first Nelson had denied calling them, but after he was “belted around the face” he had admitted that he had, and said that he was sorry.

While he was in the lounge, King said, he did not hear noises coming from the bedroom where his girlfriend was, but he saw her rush to the lavatory at one stage. Soon after, things started going missing from the flat and the refrigerator. The accused put property from the flat into plastic rubbish bags which they took with them when they left. No step was taken to get in touch with the police, King said.