Man pleads not guilty to raping former wife in Mackay

A man who denied raping his former wife after she let him stay at her home has learned his fate.

A father has been found not guilty of raping his former wife, who alleged she was “dead asleep” in her Mackay lounge room at the time.

A court heard she had allowed him to stay at her home after he moved to the region in late 2020 for work.

Mackay District Court heard the pair had been married and remained in contact for their children despite their separation.

She let him sleep on her couch.

The court heard she took her normal sleeping pill and went to sleep on a spare mattress in the lounge area because her children were asleep on her bed.

She alleged she was “dead asleep” and woke up to her former husband raping her.

The court heard her pyjama pants had been removed and flung above her head and his penis was “inside her … without her consent”.

She alleged he stopped, moved back to the couch and told her “we just did it”.

On Tuesday the man, who cannot be named as it would identify the woman, pleaded not guilty to rape – he argued she had consented to the sex.

An eight-man, four-woman jury began deliberations on Wednesday afternoon and returned a not-guilty verdict in about 30 to 40 minutes.