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Home / New Zealand

Alleged Canterbury rape victim 'trusted all those guys'

Kurt Bayer
By Kurt Bayer
South Island Head of News·NZME.·
9 Nov, 2015 04:30 PM4 mins to read

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The trial opened in Christchurch today. Photo / File

The trial opened in Christchurch today. Photo / File

A Canterbury schoolgirl who says she was raped and violated by five men in sand dunes after a beach bonfire "trusted all those guys", a court heard today.

Stuart "Mitch" Lewis, 21, Troy McIver, 21, Isaac Mould, 21, Brook Norris, 22, and Ky Reid, 21, each deny three charges of rape and one of unlawful sexual connection.

At a trial in Christchurch which opened today, the Crown alleged the girl, whose identity is protected by statutory suppression, was raped by Mould, McIver, and Norris, while Lewis sexually violated her and Reid was present.

All five accused from North Canterbury have been jointly charged on the basis that they either committed the acts, assisted or encouraged others, or at least formed a common intention to sexually assault the complainant.

They claim that the alleged victim, who was aged 16 at the time, was a willing party who had been "hitting on the boys" and had "enjoyed it" and "wanted it".

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The alleged incident happened at Woodend Beach, 25km north of Christchurch, on May 23 last year.

Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said the alleged victim had been invited to the bonfire by a friend.

She became "drunk" after drinking RTDs when the five accused began making unwelcome passes at her, Ms Orchard said.

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The victim would later allegedly tell police that she was led between 20m and 70m into the sand dunes, away from the fire's light, by two of the accused.

"She asked them where they were going and told them she wanted to go back to bonfire but they ignored her," Ms Orchard told the jury of 10 men and two women.

The teen says the other three accused then joined them.

She alleges that her shorts were ripped off and she was raped and sexually violated.

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Ms Orchard said the woman was screaming and trying to push them off her.

She told police that Lewis told her to "shut the f*** up sweetheart".

The alleged victim says she was held down and a hand was put over her mouth to muffle her screams.

When her friend came to find her, he heard her scream twice, the Crown alleges.

Her friend would later tell police that the alleged victim was "in a very bad way ... shocked ... shaken, and very distressed".

She texted her mother to pick her up but did not tell her she had been raped.

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Her mother "found out what happened: months later, laid a complaint with police, and the five men were charged.

Tony Greig, defence counsel for Mould, said he admitted having consensual sex.

Mr Greig said that the woman might have later regretted the incident or had been embarrassed by what happened.

Andrew McCormick, defence counsel for Lewis, said his client denied sexually violating her, or saying anything crude, and denied being party to sex acts with the other defendants.

April Kelland, defence counsel for Norris, told the jury that he denied raping the woman and being a party to rape.

Stephen Hembrow, defence counsel for McIver, says he admitted taking part in "consensual sexual acts".

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He told the jury it was about a case of "regretted sex" in which alcohol has played a part.

The complainant, a student now aged 17, took the witness stand this afternoon.

She was interviewed by a Child, Youth and Family specialist child interviewer twice in September last year.

Recordings of the interviews were played to the jury.

The first interview was cut short because she was too upset.

During the second, more lengthy interview, the then 16-year-old started by saying: "I was attacked by a group of boys."

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She said the bonfire party was initially fun. She didn't think anything bad would happen because she "trusted all those guys".

However, they started being "creepy" and later two of them led her into the sand dunes, she said in the interview.

The teenager asked where they were taking her and said she wanted to go back to the fire.

She described how the men "took advantage of me" and saying it was a "yuck, disgusting" and a "terrible experience".

The girl told the interviewer that she didn't know how "boys can do that to girls".

She told how she was "screaming, kicking, trying to get away" from the five accused, who she named in the interview.

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"It was against my will," she said.

"I just wanted to walk away but I couldn't."

The trial, before Justice David Gendall, continues.

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