Rotorua District Court trial: Seda Tiv found guilty on two charges, not guilty of rape

Seda Tiv has been found guilty of unlawful sexual connection with two teenagers. Photo / Andrew Warner

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A man who stood trial accused of sex crimes against two teenagers has been found guilty of two counts of unlawful sexual connection but notguilty of rape.

The jury delivered its verdicts late this afternoon after deliberating for about four hours, finding Seda Tiv guilty of unlawful sexual connection with two teenagers, one of whom was under 15 at the time.

But the jury found Tiv notguilty on two charges of rape and not guilty of travelling to meet a young person under the age of 16 for sexual grooming.

Tiv was remanded in custody.

The jury’s verdicts were met with wails and uncontrollable sobbing from women in the public gallery, who declined to speak to the Rotorua Daily Post.

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Crown prosecutor Anna McConachy told the jury in her closing statement that Tiv “wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer”.

“When I opened this case to you on Tuesday morning, I suggested it was a straightforward case and I stand by that,” McConachy told the jury of seven women and five men.

Defence counsel Bill Nabney told the jury Tiv had an honest belief on reasonable grounds that the girls, one of them underage, were consenting to have sex with him.

Over the course of the trial, which began on Tuesday in the Rotorua District Court, the Crown said police investigated the teens’ complaints and found a man - Tiv - was using false names to meet women on social media.

The first girl, aged under 16, gave evidence that she was befriended on Snapchat by a man using the name “Jame Walker”. The second complainant, older than 16, said she was added on Facebook by a man called “Tony Lile”.

Tiv, 27, had pleaded not guilty to five charges including: travelling to meet a young person under the age of 16 for sexual grooming; two counts of unlawful sexual connection; and one count of raping the girl. He was further charged with raping a different girl aged over 16. The offences were alleged to have taken place in 2020. Tiv was aged 24 at the time.

In her closing statement, McConachy said she had “no hesitation” in telling the jury they could be sure the evidence given by the two witnesses in the trial was true.

“The evidence from each of them shows a pattern of behaviour with Mr Tiv,” McConachy said.

“He would lie about his age. He would take steps to meet them and he would take advantage of them.”

McConachy said one witness was “absolutely clear” about where her consent ended.

“She told him no over 10 times. [She said] every word that you can think of that means no.

“He wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

McConachy told the jury that Tiv had lied on multiple occasions.

“He told her he was 18 when he was 24,” McConachy said.

“He claims that both of these one-night stands were consensual. The Crown would argue that that is implausible.”

McConachy said Tiv’s evidence “flies in the face of common sense”.

“It’s hard to remember a lie. It’s hard to remember a detailed lie.”

McConachy said, in contrast, the evidence of the two girls was consistent.

“They chose to meet up with Mr Tiv. They did not choose to be raped.”

Appearing for Tiv, Nabney said it was important for the jury to pay attention to how events unfolded in December 2020.

The trial of Seda Tiv has been held in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / Andrew Warner

In his closing statement, Nabney said Tiv had an honest belief on reasonable grounds that the girls were consenting to have sex with him.

“We know that they met following messaging with each other,” Nabney said.

“[One girl] climbed out of the window of her bedroom so that her mother wouldn’t know what she was up to.

“That shows that she was at least willing to engage in some risk-taking.”

Nabney said the car where the alleged offending took place was parked at the end of the driveway of the girl’s home.

Nabney said that according to her evidence, the girl left the car at one point to check on her mother’s vehicle lights.

“If she didn’t want to be with him all she had to do was keep walking and go back to her house and climb back through her window,” Nabney said.

“She came back.”

Nabney said the girl gave Tiv permission to kiss her, that “the kissing went on for a while” and later the girl also consented to get in the back of the car with Tiv.

“She at that point has had ample opportunity to have left Mr Tiv,” Nabney said.

“She was in fact, despite what she said to you, quite happy with what was happening in the car.”

Nabney said to the jury the second girl was “not as intoxicated as she gave in her evidence”.

“She was able to walk from the car, walk up to the door and she was able to unlock the door. She’s not somebody who was totally intoxicated to the extent that she claimed in her police interview.”

Nabney said the girl did not need to invite Tiv into her bed.

“He could have slept on the couch. He didn’t need to get into bed with her if she was just doing him a favour so that he didn’t have to drink and drive,” Nabney said.

“At the time of the sexual contact, she was consenting to it. The fact that she later regrets it doesn’t make it a crime.”

The trial was before Judge Gregg Hollister-Jones. Tiv had an interpreter as he needed some English words explained.

Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.