Rape acquittal ends difficult two years

A Palmerston North man acquitted of rape says he was falsely accused by a woman he cared about.

Anthony Murrell, 36, was cleared yesterday on one charge of rape and one of stupefying by a jury in the Palmerston North District Court.

The Crown had alleged Murrell drugged then raped a woman in July 2009.

Outside the court, Murrell said it had been "a trying and difficult couple of years" since a rape complaint was laid with police in 2009.

"I'm glad it's over," he said. "I'm just thankful I didn't go to jail for something I didn't do."

In summing up the case yesterday, Murrell's defence lawyer, Fergus Steedman, said his client and the complainant had been friends. Murrell's testimony showed he cared about the complainant and knew her well.

Mr Steedman said the woman was yet to become an adult who took responsibility for her own mistakes. The false accusation had been made to prevent her from having to face her mistakes, Mr Steedman said.

The complainant was a compulsive liar, he said, and throughout the trial her testimony had been contradicted by other witnesses and evidence.

"She lies as a matter of routine. She lies when she doesn't need to. She is a liar, full stop," he said.

Murrell had cared about the woman and been her friend for about two years before the rape allegation.

For the latter half of that friendship the pair had been casual sex partners, something the complainant denied in court.

Mr Steedman said that on the night in question Murrell had decided to end the relationship.

In contrast to the complainant, Murrell had been frank and honest with the jury, Mr Steedman said.

"What was his motivation? Why would he want to hurt her?"

In closing for the Crown, prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk told the jury that while the complainant had been found to be lying about some aspects of her story, it did not mean everything she said was a lie. He said it was possible the woman had felt the need to expand on her story as she did not remember the incident.

The prosecution case had rested on a four-centimetre cut to the woman's genitals. Mr Vanderkolk told the jury there was no way such a wound could have been caused by consensual sex.

Mr Steedman responded to that claim by saying a doctor with expertise in rape cases had told the jury she had never seen such an injury as a result of sex, consensual or otherwise. The cause of the injury was unknown, Mr Steedman said.

Dismissing the jury, Judge Les Atkins said he agreed with the verdict.

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