Crown prosecutor Rosemary Hayden and Luca Fairgray’s lawyer, Susan Gray, give their opening remarks to the court.
Luca Fairgray, 22, is on trial for charges of sexual conduct with a minor.
The Crown alleges Fairgray knew the girl was 13 when the sexual activity occurred, Fairgray claims she said she was 16.
Today a police witness testified Fairgray jumped out a window when they went to speak to him.
A man facing charges over a sexual relationship he had with an underage girl allegedly jumped out a window and hid under a house after police came to his family home looking to speak to him.
Luca Fairgray, 22, is on trial at Auckland District Court facing three chargesof sexual conduct with a young person, two of which are representative.
Today, Constable Scott Loper told the court when police went to Fairgray’s home his father came to the door and spoke with the officers.
During their conversation, Loper testified that he could hear rustling outside the house.
Luca Fairgray is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl. Photo/ Dean Purcell
When the father went to retrieve his son, he told him Fairgray had jumped out of the window.
Shortly after Loper left, the father called him and said his son had been hiding under the house.
When Loper returned he said Fairgray was covered in cobwebs, and said he jumped out of the window because he was anxious about the age difference between him and the complainant.
Constable Danielle You, who attended with Loper, provided a written statement to the court.
You said when Fairgray emerged he seemed nervous and was shaking.
She also said Fairgray told them he was concerned about the age gap between himself and the teen.
Fairgray’s lawyer Susan Gray told the jury he “panicked” when police were speaking to his father and he jumped out of the window as he knew the relationship was unlawful.
Gray also opened her defence today, and reminded the jury that it is not disputed that the pair had sex or that she had been 13.
The defence’s arguments are based on their claim that the complainant had said she was 16, and that Fairgray believed her.
Gray said because it was a criminal offence to have sex with a minor, and Fairgray had agreed this occurred, there is only one way to find him not guilty.
That is, she said, the jury must be satisfied he reasonably believed she was 16 and took reasonable steps to verify her age.
“When considering these issues you need to bear in mind Luca Fairgray’s diagnosis of autism,” she told the court during her opening argument today.
Although she said autism in itself was not a defence to the charges, and Fairgray was not mounting a disability defence, “The reality is, his brain is different to yours and mine”.
This, she told the court, was a biological fact he could not control which impacted his assessment of real-life situations.
Not applying his autism diagnosis when considering the evidence would be, Gray argued, effectively discriminating based on his disability.
Both Fairgray and the complainant have autism and ADHD.
Gray said Fairgray had strong feelings for the girl and when he found out she was 13 he was utterly shocked and felt “overwhelmed and cried”.
After that, Gray said Fairgray broke up with her, but they continued to be friends.
The Crown alleges Fairgray and the girl met on a video chat website in June 2023 before moving to Snapchat, where it is alleged the complainant told him she was 13.
The pair dated for months and had sex on multiple occasions.
Sexual connection with a young person under 16 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Supplying a Class C drug carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
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