Historical sex abuse case 'not based on sympathy'

File photo / NZ Herald

The evidence against a 57-year-old Lower Hutt man accused of nine historical sex abuse charges would not be able to convince a jury beyond reasonable doubt, his lawyer said.

The defence and the Crown gave their closing addresses to a Wellington District Court jury this afternoon. Judge Denys Barry will sum up the case tomorrow.

The Crown alleges the man, who has name suppression, abused two boys and two girls, all aged under 16, between April 1992 and August 1999.

Crown prosecutor Kate Feltham told the jury there had been no suggestion of consent, so the only issue to consider was whether the events happened.

Ms Feltham said each of the complainants' accounts told similar stories.

The evidence, she said, showed a pattern of behaviour of a man always operating at night, while his victims were asleep, so they were initially unaware of what he was doing.

Ms Feltham said the trial, while short, had not been particularly easy due to the nature of the alleged offences.

However, she told the jury the Crown's case was not based on sympathy and she was not asking them to feel sympathy for the complainants.

Ms Feltham suggested the evidence given was plausible and that the jury should accept it.

Defence lawyer Geoff Fulton drew attention to the testimony of one complainant, in which he had said he confronted the accused man, asking: "Did you try to molest me?"

The man had replied "yes", the complainant had said.

Mr Fulton said the alleged discussion did not fit with the other complainants' stories.

Mr Fulton also told the jury much of the complainants' evidence involved them waking to see the accused man walking away, but not actually witnessing the alleged incidents.

He said the incidents would evoke an emotional reaction, but the jury would have to put that to the side and focus on the evidence.

The standard of proof of beyond reasonable doubt was not one the jury would reach in respect of the claims against his client, Mr Fulton said.