Man guilty of raping teen girl

A 57-year-old Wanganui man has been found guilty of rape after a three-day trial in the Wanganui District Court.

Peter Lockhart had faced a representative charge of sexual violation by rape committed on August 15, 2010, at his home.

The trial was before Judge David Cameron, for the prosecution was crown solicitor Megan Jaquiery, defence counsel was Roger Crowley.

Lockhart's victim was a teenage girl who was known to him and was not underage.

The court heard earlier how the girl had turned up at Lockhart's house after an argument with her father and had stayed the night sleeping with him in his bed.

It had been alleged that Lockhart had taken her into his bedroom, undressed and had sex with her.

In his closing address Judge Cameron told the jury they needed to be very clear about proving reasonable doubt before reaching their verdict.

He said it was for them, the jury, to decide whether there had been consensual sex that night.

"So do not focus on extracts from the evidence in the transcript. You must accept all the evidence you think is reliable and treat the transcript as a whole." The jury had deliberated for three hours returning with a question for the judge less than an hour before reaching their verdict.

The question was "what constituted reasonable doubt". And in this case it was whether they believed the sex had been consensual or not.

Lockhart will be sentenced on July 30.