Man 'destroyed' by false rape claim

A man from the central North Island township of Mangakino says a false accusation of rape levelled against him is a stigma he'll never be able to shake.

Leonard Joseph, 42, was last week acquitted at the High Court in Rotorua on all charges relating to the alleged rape of the 14-year-old Mangakino girl in March 2009. The charges he faced included abduction, forcibly taking a minor and rape.

The jury took just seven minutes to come back with a not guilty verdict following a five-day trial.

The married father of seven told the Waikato Times the charges "destroyed him" and all the work he'd been trying to do for the Mangakino community.

He used to spend five nights a week helping the town's youth by teaching kapa haka, hip hop and rugby league teams through a programme called Slam.

But that all stopped when he was arrested and confined to his mother's house on a 24-hour curfew. After a run-in with his accuser and her family he was remanded in custody. He spent 17 weeks in Waikeria Prison before being released on electronic bail.

Mr Joseph said the girl falsely accused him of rape after the police caught her on her way to Tauranga in a car she had stolen from her parents. She told police she had to leave Mangakino because Mr Joseph raped her.

He said not only did he suffer because of the lie, his family was also tainted.

Mr Joseph said women should think of the consequences before making such accusations.

"It's not just one man that you are doing this to ... it affects everyone. I wouldn't want any man to go through what I've been through."

His lawyer, Jonathan Temm said the consequences for his client had been "horrific".

Sexual violation cases were not being looked at critically enough before they made it to court, he said.

The officer in charge of the case was not available for comment yesterday.

- NZPA