A husband accused of sexually assaulting his wife after their wedding reception and throughout the nights of their honeymoon has been found not guilty of rape.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, cried as Judge Pauline David found him not guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault, five counts of sexual assault and two other counts of assault.
He had been accused of brutally raping his wife four times on August 26, 2018, after their wedding reception in Liverpool, southwest of Sydney.
They were married by arrangement just over a month after meeting on the recommendation of friends.
The woman testified at her husband’s District Court trial that he forcibly got on top of her once they arrived at his hotel room in Sydney and had sex with her despite her “begging” him to stop.
She accused him of telling her ‘it’s my wedding night’ and ‘stop resisting, it will be harder’, claiming the force of the penetration caused her to bleed.
The husband had been charged with three other incidents of sexual assault that night, along with others that occurred during their honeymoon in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.
The woman reported experiencing extreme pain and bleeding each time.
A husband accused of sexually assaulting his wife after their wedding reception and throughout the nights of their honeymoon has been found not guilty of rape (file photo)
Her husband was also accused of slapping her three times during an argument in September 2018, along with another incident in which he is said to have hit her at least 20 times after she threw a glass of water at him.
The defendant maintained that all sexual relations were consensual and that he never hit her.
Judge David agreed, calling the wife an “unreliable witness” and saying he had been given no evidence that the defendant had any tendency to be violent.
The judge found inconsistencies in stating that the texts and photographs presented to the court showed the wife as “warm and loving.”
He said the wife looked happy, warm, approachable and affectionate in honeymoon photos, reflecting “a completely different presentation” the day after the allegations of “what can only be described as a brutal rape.”
Texts from after their honeymoon show the wife begging her husband to see her, repeatedly expressing her love for him and describing him as “my life.”
Judge David also noted that the wife had apologized for the alleged assault incident in October 2018, where she described being hit 20 times, without mentioning any violence.
“Her testimony is completely contradictory and contradictory to her insistence that he come and spend the night with her,” the judge said.
“I’m waiting for you,” “I need you,” “the whole night is too long”… these are messages she sent to the defendant… it is absolutely clear that this is in conflict with what she said in her testimony.
The accused was 34 years old at the time of his wedding, while the wife was 25.
The couple has since divorced.
The defendant’s lawyer warned that they would request that his legal costs be covered.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Service for Support and Reparation in Cases of Sexual Abuse 1800 211 028