The court could not rule out a reasonable possibility that the husband’s evidence was true
A Wellington District Court judge has found a man not guilty of multiple charges of sexual violation and violent offending against his former wife after concluding that the evidence left open a reasonable possibility that the husband’s account of the marriage was true.
Judge Noel Sainsbury’s reasons for the verdicts were released following a recent judge-alone trial in which the defendant denied six charges relating to allegations of rape and violence during the couple’s marriage of more than 15 years, the NZ Herald reported.
The complainant told the court that the relationship had been troubled from the outset and later became abusive, involving violence, threats to kill, and rape. She alleged that the defendant exercised controlling behaviour throughout the marriage.
The defendant rejected those allegations and described the marriage as loving and mutually supportive for much of its duration. He told the court that the relationship deteriorated only in later years as the complainant’s mental health declined.
In his written reasons, Sainsbury said the case ultimately depended on his assessment of the credibility and reliability of both parties, who gave conflicting evidence about the nature of their relationship and the alleged offending.
The judge said evidence presented during the trial established that the complainant had post-traumatic stress disorder, but he rejected any suggestion that the diagnosis undermined her credibility. He said there was no evidence that her mental illness caused hallucinations, false memories, or delusions. He also noted that some witness testimony supported her allegations and that her PTSD diagnosis was consistent with the trauma of the type alleged.
However, the judge said the defendant’s evidence was also credible and could not be dismissed as untrue. During the hearing, the defence produced hundreds of communications exchanged by the couple through Facebook, WhatsApp, email, and other platforms.
Sainsbury said the messages generally supported the defendant’s position that the relationship was supportive, even if it was later unravelling. While accepting the Crown’s submission that text exchanges do not necessarily reflect the true nature of a relationship, he said the “general tenor” of the communications did not align with the complainant’s interpretation.
The judge said there was weight in the defence argument that the complainant viewed the defendant’s actions negatively in a manner that affected her objectivity. He said this was reflected in her interpretation of the messages exchanged between the parties.
He concluded that he could not exclude the reasonable possibility that the defendant’s account was accurate and found him not guilty on all charges.
