KEY POINTS:
The jury in the trial of a prominent Canterbury man on charges of historic sex abuse has retired to consider its verdict on the hearing's ninth day.
It went out at 10.45am after a 1hr 45min summing up by Justice Graham Panckhurst in the High Court at Christchurch, the Court News website reports
The jury has to decide on 12 counts that remain in the Crown's indictment. Three were ruled out by Justice Panckhurst after legal argument at the end of the crown case on Monday.
All the man's personal details have been suppressed, including his age and his occupation, and the courts have barred reporting of the locations where the Crown says offending occurred 30 to 40 years ago.
He has denied allegations described by the woman during several days of evidence in court last week that she had been repeatedly abused by him from the age of eight until she was about 18. He was older than she was, and she told the court she was infatuated with him.
He has acknowledged that he did have sex with her on one occasion when she was aged about 16 or 17 and she had initiated that. The woman denies that happened.
The man has pleaded not guilty to two charges of inducing an indecent act, three of indecent assault, sodomy, and six charges of rape.
- NZPA
