During his own trip to the witness box, the defendant described the now-adult witness as a liar and a “tease” who was using him to get ahead. He said the accuser had been exploring his sexuality at the time and as a result would give mixed messages.
He denied having spiked the teen’s drinks on two occasions. He also denied blackmailing the teen by threatening to destroy his reputation or release nude photos if the teen didn’t relent to sexual acts. All sexual acts between the two of them were consensual, he said.
The second accuser said he was 18 years old when he twice woke up in the defendant’s bed after nights of heavy drinking to find the defendant performing a sex act on him. Like the other accuser, he also acknowledged some flirtatious behaviour with the defendant but said he wasn’t gay and insisted he never gave consent for any sexual acts.
Appearing before the Court of Appeal last October, the defence lawyer Nick Chisnall KC also appealed the conviction, arguing that High Court Justice Rebecca Edwards had improperly instructed the jury. Details of the argument cannot yet be reported for legal reasons.
But today’s judgment dismissed the argument.
“In short, the Judge’s directions complied with the settled law and involved no error,” Justice Jill Mallon wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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