A jury has convicted a man of raping a teenage girl at her home in February 2023.
During the trial which began earlier this week, the complainant, who was 14 at the time, testified that she knew the accused only as a neighbour, someone she saw occasionally but rarely spoke to, since she tended to stay indoors.
She told the court that on the day of the incident, she was home alone preparing for dance practice when he came to her door asking for her aunt. When she told him her aunt wasn’t home, she said, he forced his way inside and raped her in her grandmother’s room, ignoring her pleas for him to stop. She said she was menstruating at the time, which intensified the pain of the assault.
A central plank of the defence, led by attorney Sherfield Bowen, was the gap between the complainant’s original police statement and the fuller account she later gave. She admitted under cross-examination that her first statement described a lesser incident, that the accused touched her, then left once he realised she was menstruating. The defence argued this discrepancy showed she was covering up an unrelated matter: that a male school friend had visited her at home that day, breaking a house rule. She acknowledged fearing punishment over the visit, but denied that this was why her story changed. She said she only gave the complete account once she learned she would be medically examined, and after confiding in her grandmother. Her greater fear, she said, was that the accused might return and hurt her. She also denied any romantic relationship with the boy, saying they had simply watched television and talked about school.
The complainant’s aunt testified that the accused contacted her after the incident, denying any wrongdoing and claiming the teen was trying to frame him for rape. She said he later sent voice notes asking her to accompany him to the police station to help clear his name. The aunt denied knowing in advance about the boy’s visit and denied being a strict disciplinarian her niece feared, explaining to the jury that the accused had obtained her number only after once using her phone when he misplaced his own.
A step-aunt also gave evidence, telling the court she was contacted after the incident and found the teen visibly upset. She took her to the police station, after which she was examined at a clinic and later stayed with her for a period. This witness confirmed she had signed as a witness when the complainant’s original statement was taken by police, and that she was later shown the statement, which recorded the less serious version of events.
After the prosecution’s witnesses had testified, the accused gave an unsworn statement denying any physical contact with the complainant. He said he had gone to speak with her about her conduct with a young man, and claimed that once medical results came back, she shifted blame onto him instead.
The jury rejected his account and found him guilty.
