“Women are not powerless and weak and none of these women are that.”
She said everyone did things they regretted, which could include drinking too much and having sexual encounters they wished they hadn’t.
“Having regrets and wishing things are different are normal and accepted parts of life but what’s not acceptable is reinventing or re-imagining things to cover up or explain away that regret. No one in this trial is saying it’s acceptable to sexually assault a woman... but what is also unacceptable is to re-imagine a sexual encounter that was consensual as one that was not, even if on reflection, perhaps after sobering up, we regret it.”
She said there was “power in numbers” but in this case, the police had gone “searching” for other women the defendant had been in contact with in previous years to provide back-up to a woman who had made a complaint to police she had been sexually assaulted.
“The more women it can throw in front of you to suggest that he’s a creep or that he behaved inappropriately towards them, the more likely it is you’ll accept that he sexually assaulted them.
“Through their investigations, they have now found a group of women who are now prepared to say something adverse against him. Even innocuous claims like ‘he touched my leg’ or ‘he tried to kiss me in the car’ have now added to the charges to try and bolster this numbers game.”
Stuart said the “power in numbers” was further diminished when the police, whether intentionally or not, influenced women to say things to support their case.
“For example, telling witnesses the defendant is a predator, telling them about other complainants, saying they need to make a statement to support the other women. Suddenly what was a memory of a sexual encounter or even a completely non-sexual encounter is reviewed and re-remembered through the lens of ‘well maybe that was a bit creepy or maybe that wasn’t what I wanted at the time’.”
Stuart said there was an “agenda” to bring him down.
“Why have the police never asked these women to provide their cellphones?”'
She said one of the complainants was a woman whom the defendant had an affair with.
Stuart said after their relationship ended, the woman was hurt.
“She was driven to see him suffer and be in pain. She has persuaded others along the way to join her.”
The defendant didn’t deny he used illicit drugs and was unfaithful but she said the whole group he was associated with behaved the same way.
“The group lived by the motto ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’.”
She said many of the women they hung out with were often part of the entertainment scene and enjoyed taking drugs.
“He was hungry, ambitious and had big dreams... He found himself living the life of drinking, drugs and sex which included sleeping with women who weren’t his wife.”
Stuart said the defendant’s wife was a strong woman who valued her family and loved him.
“She is not some silly woman being cheated on... She turned a blind eye to what was going on with one-night stands, knowing full well that was what was happening.”
Stuart said it wasn’t a crime to have a one-night-stand when you were married.
“Unquestionably [he] would have a go with women he found attractive. He would try it on and flirt, perhaps with some women he shouldn’t have, or at least now he wishes he hadn’t.”
Stuart said with the exception of one complainant, he was attracted to all of the women in the case but his contact with all of them was consensual, or at least he had reason to believe it was.
She said women would hit on him too because of who he was, and they wanted his attention, things he could offer and his money.
“They wanted a piece of him and he was more than generous in dishing that out. The problem with that is it attracted a lot of fake people, fake friends who just wanted something.”
Stuart said the defendant now knew where things went wrong.
“He is the first to put up his hand to say he’s no angel and he’s made mistakes but that doesn’t make him a criminal.”
In total, the defendant has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of indecent assault, four of sexual violation by rape, three of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, two of attempted sexual violation, two of burglary, one of assault with intent to commit sexual violation, one of supplying MDMA, one of supplying methamphetamine and one of willfully attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Suppression orders prevent some details and names of others involved in the case from being reported. The trial is before Justice Layne Harvey and today marks the start of the ninth week.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
