Convicted rapist loses appeal to have guilty verdict quashed

A FORMER boxer and soldier convicted of threatening to kill a sex worker before violently raping her has lost his appeal to have his conviction overturned

Thomas Lynch is seen leaving the Darwin Supreme Court in August 2018

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A FORMER boxer and soldier convicted of threatening to kill a sex worker before violently raping her has lost his appeal to have his conviction overturned.

Thomas Lynch was convicted of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent by a jury in August 2018 who returned a unanimous verdict after less than 90 minutes of deliberation.

The court heard Lynch attended the hotel room of the 53-year-old woman in April 2017, who made it clear from the start that she would only engage in sexual intercourse if he wore a condom.

He then pressed his hand over the woman’s face, telling her to shut up and then “said words to the effect that he knew she was working on her own and no-one would hear or help her if she screamed.”

He then forced his penis into both her mouth and vagina without a condom, continuing to threaten her and physically assault her.

He also told her: “Do you want to die, if you continue talking then I will kill you.”

Lynch did not take the stand during his trial, but the court heard he told police at the time: “If it’s a matter of consent, then money buys consent.”

Lynch’s barrister Peter Elliot launched an appeal in May last year against both the guilty verdict and Lynch’s sentence of eight years’ prison, with a non-parole period of five years and eight months.

Court of Appeal Justices Hiley, Blokland and Chief Justice Grant handed down their decision on Friday, dismissing both appeals.

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The finding of guilt was challenged on the grounds that the verdict was “unreasonable” as there were some inconsistencies between the evidence given by the victim to police and at trial.

However, according to the reasons for their decision, the appeal justices said: “When all of the evidence is properly considered … we have concluded … that it was open to the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty.”

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