Mackay region man found not guilty of rape, assault against wife

A Qld miner whose ex-wife claimed he raped her has been found not guilty by a jury after his barrister argued the case was fuelled by a bitter property dispute.

The Queensland man was aquitted of two counts of rape and assault occasioning bodily harm on Tuesday, June 17.

A Mackay region man accused of raping his wife twice and assaulting her has been acquitted by a jury on all charges.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and one of assault occasioning bodily harm as the four-day trial came to a close at Mackay District Court on Tuesday, June 17.

The historic accusations date back more than 12 years.

The husband was on trial for allegedly twice raping his wife, once just after she’d had a miscarriage and again when she was seven months pregnant.

These claims were labelled “a fabrication” by the man’s legal team.

It had been alleged the offending continued for some years.

Defence barrister Paul Rutledge claimed the woman fabricated the story because a property dispute was not going her way following her marriage breakdown.

He also suggested her claims about the defendant repeatedly punching her in the face after a fight over finances was “littered with inconsistencies” and “impossibilities” after it was shown her version of events didn’t align with the time the defendant had come home from working in the mines.

“The core evidence upon which the prosecution relies is riddled with inconsistencies and improbabilities which should give you concern about the honesty and reliability of (the complainant and her parents),” he said.

Crown Prosecutor Monique Sheppard rejected claims her client was motivated to lie.

Ms Sheppard agreed the parents, who were called as witnesses during the trial, had delivered “not the most reliable accounts” of events, but argued the woman’s recollection of the alleged offences had been “entirely consistent” throughout the trial.

“Every single thing that she has said has not been subject to a cross examination,” she said.

Mr Rutledge however told the court that the woman’s recollection of the events didn’t “sit well” with him given she failed to mention the reported abuse during a meeting with a police DV officer.

He argued the woman only came forward with the allegations when formal custody and property disputes were underway.

“She was clearly giving every opportunity to give examples of sexual or physical violence, and she gives not one,” he said.

Ms Sheppard told the court those submissions didn’t “hold any water” given her client would only come forward with the allegations “in the comfort of her own home”.

The seven man, five woman jury began deliberations about 4pm on Monday, June 16 after the lengthy court hearing and not-guilty verdict was returned on Tuesday.

Mackay region man pleads not guilty to rape, assault against wife

Earlier, Ms Sheppard said it was alleged the first rape occurred shortly after the woman had miscarried their child.

It was alleged he tried to initiate intimacy and when she told him no, he grabbed her by her hair, ripped off her pants and raped her.

The court heard the second rape allegedly occurred some years later when she was about seven months pregnant with their second child.

It is alleged he tried to initiate intimacy, but she was tired and asked him to stop.

Ultimately it was alleged he put a pillow over her head and “she was crying as he raped her”, the court heard.

It also heard she gave birth prematurely early the next morning and the infant had to be flown to Townsville for specialist care and that the man was very controlling which extended to family finances and he made her keep spreadsheets of everything.

One day, the woman had enough and deleted the spreadsheets, telling her husband later that day it was just too much, the court heard.

It was alleged in response he “punched his wife repeatedly”.

As a result, she later took photos of her black eye which she kept secret for about two years before also emailing an old school friend. Some of these images were shown in court.

“Evidence will reveal while the (alleged) offending occurred the wife didn’t report the sexual violence or assault to anyone – not her parents, not police, not a counsellor or a friend. She carried this with her on her own,” Ms Sheppard said.

It was only after the relationship had ended, she told police what allegedly occurred, and he was arrested.

Defence barrister Paul Rutledge told the jury they needed to “look at the wider picture”.

“And that picture is that these complaints only came to light as far as the authorities were concerned in the course of a dispute between (her) and (my client) about custody of their children, about a property settlement,” Mr Rutledge said.

“A property settlement which also drew (her) parents into the battle.”

Mr Rutledge also urged the jury to pay close attention to the photo evidence “because it shines a very big light on the degree of credibility you should give to (her) evidence”.

Judge John Allen KC told the jury this matter had already been to a trial, which had been aborted soon after the woman had given evidence and told them not to speculate why it did not proceed to its conclusion.

Two reserve jurors were also selected because of the expected length of the trial.

The court was closed for the woman’s evidence.

Originally published as Mackay region man found not guilty of rape, assault against wife