Two men charged with rape

Press, 27 March 1980, Page 5

Two men charged with rape

Nelson reporter c c Two men charged with committing rape on a 17-1 year-old trainee nurse, were c committed to the Supreme s Court for trial after the t lower court hearing in Nel- t son yesterday. I Messrs K. J. Strange and 1 D. D. Merritt, Justices of the ' I Peace, refused bail to Ma- ' |katu Norman Williams, aged 21, a factory hand, and ; Frank Griffo Bluegum, agedil 18, a boiler hand, who were ’ charged with raping the girl on February 23 in Nelson. i They each pleaded not ' guilty. When Detective Sergeant G. Hardy opposed bail, [they were remanded in custody for trial. It is probable | that the case will not go to I trial until the next session ‘in Nelson in June. ■ The names of all witnesses associated with the • complainant, and the name of the complainant, were suppressed. Mr D. J. Maze appeared for both defendants. The evidence ghen by the complainant was that she had accompanied her boy friend and other friends to two Nelson hotels on the night of February 22 before they went to a party. It was suggested at the party that they should move to another party and because her boy friend’s car was said to be (short of petrol it was de-

cided all would go in the car of Bluegum’s brother. The complainant said Frank Bluegum drove the car, she got in alongside him and her boy friend got in the back. But her boy friend then jumped out to go and lock his car, and Williams got in beside her. The door was slammed and Bluegum drove off.

She said they travelled to a place where the other party was to be held but there was no party there. They then drove down to the Queen’s Gardens area at which time she asked to be taken back to the nurses’ home.

Bluegum drove the car to a picnic area up the Maitai Valley where she alleged Williams had got in the back seat of the car with her, forced her to carry out an indecent act on him, and then had intercourse with her in the car. While Williams held her, Bluegum had got into the back of the car and also had intercourse with her, she said in evidence.

On the return journey to Nelson the car was stopped by a police patrol and the two men were arrested after an altercation. She was taken back to the nurses’ home by a police constable and immediately had a

shower because “she felt dirty' all over.” A nurse, who saw the complainant on the way to a shower, said the complainant was very upset and told her she had been raped. The night supervisor said that when she saw the complainant she was bordering on hysteria. Detective G. F. Stebbings gave evidence of inter-

viewing the complainant and then interviewing separately each of the defendants. Bluegum had told him he had raped the girl, and he (Bluegum) understood what the term “raped” meant. Hej had also said that Williams had forced her to do an indecent act on him and had had intercourse with her also. She did not want to do the indecent act or have

intercourse, but she was forced to. Williams at first denied having intercourse with the complainant but after seeing Bluegum’s statement he had admitted that intercourse | had taken place and that she had been forced to do an indecent act on him. He had also admitted that the complainant did not want to have intercourse with him, Detective Stebbings alleged.