Accused denies raping former de facto wife

Press, 18 March 1983, Page 4

Accused denies raping former de facto wife

A solo mother on a domestic purposes benefit denied in the High Court yesterday that she had made an allegation of rape against her former de facto husband because she was afraid that the Social Welfare Department would find out she had been living with him and because her parents strongly disapproved of the relationship.

Alastair John Fowler, aged 24, an unemployed joiner, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping a woman, aged 21. on September 29, 1982.

Mr Justice Holland is presiding over the trial which will finish today. There are four women on the jury. Mr B. M. Stanaway appears for the Crown, and Dr W. G. G. A. Young for Fowler.

A woman, aged 21. said that she was a domestic purposes beneficiary with a

son, aged 16 months. Fowler was father of the child and she had known him for more than two years. They had lived together in a de facto relationship for about 18 months. She tried to end their relationship in October. 1981, when she moved out of the flat they had been sharing. Fowler helped her shift her belongings and on occasions stayed with her. Earlier in 1982 she had wanted to break off her association with Fowler. She wanted to remain friends with him but he wanted more than that. There were difficulties because Fowler wanted access to his son and she would not give it to him.' Fowler called a number of times but on most occasions she would not let him in.

To stop Fowler pestering her, the woman said that she got a trespass order against him through her lawyer, she called the police a number of times, got the locks changed and nailed up most of the windows. She told Fowler that he was not welcome but he still kept hassling her. Every week-end she went to stay with her parents to avoid Fowler. Each time she returned home she would telephone her parents. If they did not receive that call they would telephone the police. On September 29, 1982, the woman said that she got up at 10.45 a.m. and let the dog out the front door for a run. As she did so Fowler pushed his way inside, called the dog in and then locked the door. He jumped her before she realised he was there. When she tried to close the door he put his foot in it.

She was wearing a nightgown and Fowler pushed her on to the bed and talked to her about the break-up in their relationship and access to his son. At times he was not making sense. Fowler would not let her leave the bedroom.

He went to the spare bedroom and returned with a pair of pantyhose. Her arms were twisted behind her back and her wrists were tied with the pantyhose. She asked him to let her go because she did not like being tied up and was scared.

Fowler just carried on and pushed her down on the bed. He removed her panties and threw them on the floor. After removing his pants he got on top of her. She tried to free herself from the pantyhose and to get off the bed. She was screaming at him to let her go and he told her to shut up. He had sexual intercourse with her though she tried to prevent it. After removing the pantyhose from around her wrists Fowler had intercourse with her for a second time although she tried to push him off. Eventually she managed to wriggle off the end of the bed and went to the bathroom. When she returned Fowler was on the telephone speaking to the police. He told them that if they did not hurry and get there he would be sorry for what he was going to do.

The woman said that she returned to the bedroom and Fowler came in and asked her if she had a boyfriend. When she admitted that she had he slapped her across the face. He demanded to know his name and when she refused to tell him he punched her under the jaw with his clenched fist.

Before the police arrived Fowler picked up his son who had been in the cot and. started to walk towards the door with him and then changed his mind and brought him back with the comment that he did not have anywhere to take him. He told her that she was not a fit mother.

As soon as the police arrived the woman said that she told the dog handler that Fowler had raped her. On that day she had never consented to Fowler having intercourse with her. The baby had been awake in his cot in the bedroom while she was being raped. To Mr Young the witness said that she had been living in a hostel about the middle of 1981 when she first met Fowler and moved into a flat with him. They later moved to a second flat.

While she was waiting for her State house and was pregnant they lived in a country area for a time. She stayed with her parents for about two weeks after the baby was born. The woman agreed that Fowler wanted to marry her and at that stage she was agreeable but her parents did not agree and her father refused his consent. That was sufficient to change her mind about marriage.

Your father takes a good deal of exception to Fowler? — Yes, he doesn't like him very much.

And at the time you thought you would marry Fowler your father ordered him off his property? — Yes, he did.

•The woman agreed that her relationship with her parents was important to her and they did not want her to have anything to do with Fowler. It was so important to her that she agreed to call off her marriage to Fowler because of her father’s opposition.

Her parents would be very distressed if they believed that Fowler had been living with her.

And that is the reason why when they come around he has to go up into the attic? — He hasn’t been there lately to go up into the attic. Since she had broken off the association with Fowler he has only stayed at her place for one week-end while she was there but he stayed on two or three week-ends while she was away because at the time he was not getting, on too well with his parents. The woman admitted that she had had some contact with Fowler when he came to see his baby and collect his clothes. Most times when he arrived she turned him away or called the police but occasionally she allowed him to see the child. The last time she saw Fowler was Monday of last week. She denied that she had lunch with him but said that he' had fed the baby and had some lunch. Occasionally she had lunch with Fowler.

Since the alleged rape on September 29 have you been out with Fowler? — We did go for a drive in his car a couple of times about October or November. So within a matter of weeks or so of being raped by this man you go for a drive with him in his car? — Yes, and the baby came too.

The woman said that they usually went to the airport to watch the planes. They talked about whether they would get back together. She denied that she had bought him a watch last Tuesday or that in November they had gone together into a dairy to buy groceries which were charged up.

A court order had been made allowing Fowler access to his child in the presence of a Salvation Army officer, but she had never insisted on the officer being present although Detective Roy Powell had advised her that she should.

I put it to you that Fowler was living with you until July or the beginning of August last year? — No, he wasn’t.

It was agreed by the woman that she was a

domestic purposes beneficiary and that it would affect her benefit if Fowler had lived with . her. Her parents would have been furious if they knew or suspected that Fowler was living with her.

Since the time you have moved into the place on your own you have been living a lie' beause Fowler has been staying with you but you have been denying it to anyone in authority? — No. he hasn't been living there. The woman denied that Fowler had been living with her on the three days before her twenty-first birthday party and that he left on the morning of the party because her parents would not have wanted him there.

The woman disagreed that on September 29 that she had walked into the bedroom on her own. She admitted that their relationship had always been a stormy one. She’denied that it was a regular practice for them to tie one another up with pantyhose before having sex but said it had happened on one occasion when they were having a game and it had nothing to do with sex. On September 29 she had resisted having sex with Fowler from the start and denied that she had become unwilling only towards the end of the act. The woman conceded that she had used physical violence on Fowler when she had to and on occasions she was able to give as good as she got.

It was not uncommon for some of the violent ’incidents to be resolved with sexual intercourse? — That didn’t happen very often but it had happened occasionally. I suggest to you that that was exactly what happened on this occasion? — No, it didn’t. The woman said that Fowler had slapped and punched her after he had called the police. I suggest that it is absurd to call the police around and then assault someone? — He told therq that if they didn’t hurry he’d be sorry for what he was going to do.

It did not occur to her to escape out the bathroom window because she was in her nightgown and the window was high off the ground. When the police arrived you were in a difficult position because if it emerged that you had sexual intercourse with Fowler there would be problems for you in your relations to your parents, the police arid your benefit? — I don’t understand.

If the police formed the view that you consented to .intercourse with Fowler you would have found it difficult to get them to come around on. later occasions? — He did it without any acceptance on my part. If you were to maintain that Fowler hadn’t been living with you, you had to say that he raped you? — Because he did. The woman denied that any police officer had tried to discourage her from proceeding with the allegation of rape. It was not true that Fowler had frequently spent the night at her place between the end of October and November 22 last year. The woman agreed that Fowler had been in custody at Addington Prison for 15 days from November 22 to ' December 8, 1982, after the alleged rape. She had taken the baby to visit him but she denied that she had gone to the prison . every second day. Shown the visitors, book to the prison she admitted that her signature established that she had made seven visits in the 15 day period.

Mr Young said that evidence would be given by a woman who had visited complainant’s home in November that there had been no answer to her

knocks but as she was leaving she saw complainant and Fowler peeking out through one of the windows. Complainant said that was not true.

If she says that that's a pack of lies'? - As far as I know.

The woman complainant denied that the same woman had expressed surprise to her that she was living with a man who had raped her. Told that evidence would be given that Fowler had been seen looking out the window of her home between 7.15 p.m. and 7.52 p.m. and that he had been seen there on a number of occasions, the woman said it could not have been because he was not there. The woman denied that Fowler had been effectively living with her for the last 15 months and that she was scared of the Social Welfare Department and her parents finding out. And when the police arrived on September 29 you were really committed to cry rape? — No. And that now you found yourself committed to a course of perjury you simply can't get out of? — No I'm nqt.

What happened on September 29 was no different from sexual intercourse which occurred on numerous occasions before and since? — It was different.

At this stage the Court was adjourned while Messrs Stanaway. Young. the accused and the complainant went and inspected the attic in her home. When the Court resumed the woman agreed that they had found a blanket, newspapers. cigarette cartons and butts, a piece of cardboard made into a dart and other items in the attic. One copy of the "Star” newspaper was dated March 14. 1983.

When your parents come around Fowler goes into the attic where he smokes and reads the paper until they have gone? — I've got no explanation for what was found in the attic.