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A man who was jailed for abducting and raping a woman in Wellington was discharged on all charges today when the complainant refused to testify at a retrial.
In October last year Sonny Crawford, 47, was sentenced to nine years in prison when a jury found him guilty on one count of abduction, two counts of sexual violation by unlawful connection and two counts of rape, all against the same complainant.
During the trial the Crown said the complainant, a former prostitute, got into a car with four men outside a Wellington nightclub after being promised $500 for 20 minutes of sex.
Instead she was taken to an occupied flat in the suburb of Brooklyn, where Crawford allegedly sexually assaulted her over a period of eight hours.
The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction this year after Crawford's lawyer argued there had been a miscarriage of justice in regards to the unbalanced summary of facts given to the jury by the judge.
Today, in a statement to Wellington District Court , the complainant said she did not wish to testify. She gave her reasons , which were suppressed.
Judge Ian Mill said without her testimony the charges could not be proved and, as the Crown was not seeking a warrant to compel her to speak, Crawford was acquitted.
- NZPA
