NSW teen rapist claims sex was consensual

December 07, 2022 01:41 AM CET | By AAPNEWS
Image source: AAPNEWS

A NSW teenager sentenced for raping a female school student at a house party has claimed the victim warmed up to him, poured him a drink and agreed to sleep together.

The rapist has appealed a nine-month sentence in youth detention for the sexual assault which occurred in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

At Parramatta District Court on Wednesday, his barrister Anthony Bellanto KC said the guilty verdicts handed down in August could not stand, saying the findings of the Children's Court magistrate were "glaringly improbable".

After being convicted of six counts of sexual assault and one count of intentional choking, the boy was sentenced to a non-parole period of two months. 

He was acquitted of two charges of sexual assault after the court found there was initial consent and has yet to spend a night in custody.

Mr Bellanto claimed the victim, who cannot be legally named, warmed up to the teenage boy despite initially telling friends and family she hated him.

"Her relationship with him at the party warmed and became quite conciliatory to the point where she was comfortable sharing a bed with him," he told Judge Huw Baker.

The barrister questioned the victim's claims she was incredibly drunk while also being able to remember in detail events which took place.

The victim also worked to cover up what had happened after the event, including at one point with the teenage boy, the court heard.

"It's obvious that she was capable ... of fabricating material to mislead," Mr Bellanto said in an attack on her credibility. 

The female student waited so long to make a complaint about the now-convicted rapist, which led to his arrest over a year later, because she had lost face after sleeping with a boy she previously told people she hated, the barrister said.

"What is she going to say? She looked rather foolish from her point of view if she says, 'Yes, we slept together. I slept with this boy who I hated'."

The rape took place on a mattress in one of the rooms at the house party. While the Children's Court found the victim had initially consented, the magistrate found there was a clear line at which this consent was withdrawn.

"That really hurts, please stop," she said twice during the encounter.

The victim says she did not consent to anything further after the boy went to get a glass of water and she put her underwear on.

After this, the boy still engaged in sex acts, penetrated the victim and, at one point, choked her.

Prosecutors urged Judge Baker to make the same findings as the Children's Court, saying that the victim was an honest, credible witness and that she clearly withdrew consent before the attack.

"The complainant had already said 'No' and replaced her underwear. She had also pushed him away with her feet," counsel for the prosecution told the court.

"She was in and out of consciousness and not aware of her surroundings which the appellant must have been aware of."

By contrast, the Children's Court found the rapist's evidence was "illogical" and unsupported by the evidence, and that his demeanour did not fit with the serious charges he had been accused of.

While the teenager attempted to paint himself in a very positive light in court, his victim did not embellish her evidence and made important concessions, prosecutors said.

The matter will come back before the court on February 3 next year, when a date for judgment will be set down.

Prosecutors have also lodged a separate appeal of the sentences, calling them "manifestly inadequate".

This appeal has yet to be heard.

The hearing continues.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)


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