Sione Tupoi Paumolevuka pleads not guilty to rape at Airlie Beach

A jury returned its verdict against a fruit picker accused of raping a teen girl at a tourist hotspot in less than 90 minutes. WARNING: Distressing content

Mackay Barrister Scott McLennan leaves court.

A Mackay jury returned its verdict against a Tongan fruit picker charged with raping a teen woman at an Airlie Beach hostel, while her friends were asleep in the room, in less than 90 minutes.

Sione Tupoi Paumolevuka was found not guilty of the charge.

Prosecutors previously alleged the offending occurred in late 2014.

Mr Paumolevuka had pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court to rape.

The trial began on Monday with the jury hearing evidence from a number of witnesses over two days before crown prosecution and defence closed their cases on Wednesday morning.

The seven-man, five-woman jury began deliberations just before 1pm and returned a not guilty verdict just after 2.15pm.

Lawyer argues fruit picker is ‘not some rapist’

A lawyer for a Tongan fruit picker accused of raping a teen woman at an Airlie Beach hostel the day after the pair had met and while her friends were asleep in the room says the case centres on four important questions.

Barrister Scott McLennan said these included how his client got into the cabin, why her friends only woke up about three minutes into the alleged rape, why the teen told an alleged “lie” about her bra and shirt being on and why his client would commit the offence under circumstances “where he has no prospects of getting away with it”.

Mr McLennan suggested to a jury, during his closing arguments on day three of a Mackay District Court trial, the answer to these questions would leave them “in a state of reasonable doubt about this case”.

Sione Tupoi Paumolevuka has pleaded not guilty to rape – it is alleged the incident occurred in late 2014 when the teen and two friends had gone to Airlie Beach for the weekend.

Mr Paumolevuka had joined them later and was staying in the same room.

The court heard the door to the cabin had been locked after the three girls had gone to sleep in the early hours – Mr Paumolevuka had been at the watch house after being ejected from a bar and said he did not have a key when he went to the room.

Child abuse generic

He said the alleged victim had opened the door, let him in and the two had engaged in consensual sex.

“If you accept that (the alleged victim) opened the door then she had told bare face lies in court,” Mr McLennan said.

He also questioned why the teen did not yell at the top of her lungs when she alleged Mr Paumolevuka digitally raped her before the alleged penile rape.

“My client is not some grub,” Mr McLennan said.

“He’s not some rapist.

“The sex was consensual, this wasn’t rape.”

The court heard there had been a delay in the matter as Mr Paumolevuka had gone to New South Wales in 2015.

Crown prosecutor Jessica Guy told the jury the woman had been an “honest and reliable witness” who had given clear details and who maintained her account of the alleged incident.

Ms Guy said the alleged victim’s demeanour in court had been that of a “genuine witness” who was “simply trying her best” to speak about and recall things that happened to her almost eight years ago.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations this afternoon.

‘I pulled him off her’: Teen witness recalls alleged hostel rape

Two older teens recalled the night they woke to a man allegedly raping their friend at a Whitsunday hostel, a court heard.

Mackay District Court heard the alleged victim had only met the man the day before – all four had been staying in the same room.

Sione Tupoi Paumolevuka has pleaded not guilty to rape – it is alleged the incident occurred in late 2014 at Airlie Beach.

An image of the room the three teens had booked to stay in was displayed for the jury – the court heard Mr Paumolevuka had joined them after.

One of the girls told the court Mr Paumolevuka kept trying to hold the alleged victim’s hand and touch her, but the alleged victim had appeared uncomfortable and tried to brush him off.

She told the court she woke up to her friend “saying stop stop stop”.

“She sounded terrified,” the woman said.

“I pulled him off her.”

She told the court she had jumped off her bed and pulled Mr Paumolevuka’s shirt.

“Because he was on her in missionary position,” she said.

“He was pushing her back and having sex with her.”

Defence barrister Scott McLennan suggested Mr Paumolevuka and the alleged victim had kissed at a party the night before the alleged offending.

Mr McLennan also suggested the alleged victim did not brush Mr Paumolevuka away, to which the girl said he did.

The second girl alleged she saw Mr Paumolevuka “thrusting in and out” her friend.

Both girls agreed there was no light on in the cabin.

Mr McLennan asked the second girl if she would agree that out of the trio she had been the drunkest that night.

“No,” she said.

Mr McLennan asked who then.

“I don’t know,” she told the court.

The trial under Judge John Coker continues.

‘She was pinned down’: Man denies raping teen at tourist hotspot

Day 1: A man has denied raping a teen girl at an Airlie Beach hostel backpackers during a weekend away.

A court heard he had known a friend of the teen, who lived in a town in the Whitsunday district, for about three weeks before the alleged incident in late 2014 and only met the teen for the first time days before.

Sione Tupoi Paumolevuka, who is Tongan, has pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court to rape.

Crown prosecutor Jessica Guy in her opening address to the jury the girl and two friends, all in their late teens, had planned to spend the weekend at the party hotspot.

The court heard Mr Paumolevuka later joined them and was staying in the same room.

A Tongan man has denied raping a teen girl (not pictured) during a weekend away at Airlie Beach in late 2014.

Ms Guy said when the trio of girls went out Mr Paumolevuka was not with them as he had been ejected from the bar and was in the watch house until the early hours the next morning.

The court heard it was alleged the teen woke up to Mr Paumolevuka on top of her, kissing her.

“She was saying stop,” Ms Guy told the jury.

The court heard she was allegedly trying to push him away, but she alleges he did not stop and raped her without a condom.

“She never gave her consent,” Ms Guy said.

The court heard the two friends allegedly “woke up to the sound of (the teen) saying no and stop” and saw Mr Paumolevuka on top of the teen.

“She was pinned down with his hands on hers,” Ms Guy said.

Ms Guy said Mr Paumolevuka was allegedly pulled off the teen, was made to leave the cabin and police were called.

When he was no longer in the cabin the teen “put the blanket over her head in the bed and started crying”.

The court heard police found Mr Paumolevuka in the Airlie Beach Lagoon car park later that morning.

Ms Guy said Mr Paumolevuka told officers he had sex with the teen but alleged it was consensual.

He said when he arrived back at the room she let him inside, kissed him and took off her clothes.

The court heard he said he asked if they could have sex “and she indicated yes” – they had sex for about three minutes when she asked him to stop because she experienced pain and he did.

The court was closed while the seven-man, five-woman jury heard the teen’s evidence.

The trial, under Judge John Coker, is expected to last up to four day and continues tomorrow.