Dalby District Court: Verdict handed down in trial for man accused of rape, assault

The case of a man who allegedly raped and sexualy assaulted a woman while staying at her house has been decided after three days before a jury in the Dalby District Court. Full report here:

A man who faced trial in the Dalby District Court over allegedly raping and sexually assaulting a woman known to him has been found not guilty by a jury.

The 71-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was acquitted of two charges each of rape and unlawful and indecent assault when the verdict was handed down last week.

It was previously alleged the Redlands man had been helping the woman transport sugarcane to her property on February 6, 2020, and then assaulted her in her home after he was invited to stay the night in her spare bedroom.

Crown prosecutor Victoria Adams told the Dalby court during the three-day trial the man allegedly climbed into the woman’s bed and touched her breasts despite her telling him to stop, then performed oral sex without her consent and raped her.

Witnesses who gave evidence throughout the trial included the alleged victim and police officers involved in the investigation.

The prosecution presented video footage of the man’s interview with detectives to the court as evidence, where he could be heard telling officers, “It takes two to do all this”.

Detectives read from a transcript of a later phone call between the man and his alleged victim during the recorded interview, saying the woman again accused him of raping her.

“There’s only four letters that represent what you did to me - rape,” the woman was quoted.

The Dalby court heard the man first said he thought they had engaged in consensual sex that night, but later said, “Yeah alright, I did,” in response to the accusations.

When questioned by detectives as to why he agreed he had performed sex acts on the woman without her consent, the man claimed he only did it to end the conversation.

“I just said it to agree with her, I didn’t know she had made any complaints to anyone,” he said during the recorded interview.

Defence barrister Joshua Jones argued from the outset of the proceedings that there was no question a sexual encounter occurred between the man and his alleged victim that night.

“She did consent to the things that happened. This case isn’t going to be about whether something happened,” he said.

The jury deliberated for several hours at the end of the trial, eventually finding the man not guilty on all four counts.

He was acquitted of all charges and walked free from court.