An unregistered taxi driver has been found not guilty of kidnapping and raping a woman in his car after an eight-day jury trial.
Dunedin District Court jury members retired to consider their verdict on Tuesday morning after the man was accused of indecent assault, kidnapping, rape and two charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection. It took them more than six hours to acquit him.
The man, who has interim name suppression, gave evidence via an interpreter.
When the verdict was delivered in court, the man cried and kissed the male Corrections officer who stood beside him.
When initially spoken to by police, he said he did not remember the early morning drive on February 8, 2021.
When Detective Bo Seong Kim prompted his memory, he recounted how the woman was "very drunk" and had been placing her legs on the dashboard.
The man said he touched the woman’s legs to move them away from the steering wheel.
He said the woman left the vehicle of her own volition but did not pay the informal fare before running out of sight.
In closing arguments, defence counsel Anne Stevens KC suggested the woman was "neither credible or reliable" due to her flawed description of the man’s ethnicity, clothing and facial hair.
"That has to give you pause for thought — that has to give you a doubt about her account."
Judge David Robinson warned the jury there was no "normal" way for a sexual assault victim to behave — citing the shame, shock and confusion that often arise from such crimes.
The man, who speaks limited English, allegedly told the woman: "You are gorgeous ... You are beautiful ... Get in the back of the car or I will hurt you."
"Do you really think this man would be able to, let alone want to, speak to a young New Zealand woman like that?
"He not only witnessed horrors but has gone to lengths most of us would never experience to bring safety to his wife and children, to be the pillar of his family," Mrs Stevens said.
The man moved to New Zealand to seek refuge from his war-torn country in recent years.
He said he struggled to find work due to his limited English and resorted to Facebook pages for gardening and driving jobs.
"I had only one goal when I came to New Zealand," he said.
"To look after my children and to establish new friendships and be a good citizen in this country."
Last week the jury watched the woman’s police interview where she disclosed the graphic details of the alleged assault.
Things allegedly took a violent turn when the man said he needed to get something from the boot, pulling on to a grass verge as the pair drove into Mosgiel.
"He took his seatbelt off, he moved on top of me ... It was very quick."
She said the man violated her repeatedly, ignoring her protests.
Crown prosecutor Pip Norman said the woman’s testimony was consistent and reliable.
"If [she] is making it up, those feelings and sensations are an award-winning performance.
"What a sophisticated and detailed lie she’s come up with, to describe not only the acts that happened but the feelings, the visceral reactions.
"The unavoidable conclusion is one of them has lied on oath," Mrs Norman said.
Scientists from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research testified DNA that likely belonged to the man was found on the woman’s underwear — but they could not rule out that it belonged to the defendant’s father or son.
Mrs Stevens KC described it as a "neutral" factor and highlighted the DNA could have been skin cells transferred from the car seat.
Judge Robinson directed the jury: "There is no simple formula I can give you on what evidence to accept ...
"The question remains the same — has the Crown proved the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt?"
As the man left court, he hugged and kissed his supporters before falling at their feet.
His name remains suppressed.
