Man found not guilty of sex crime
A MAN accused of rubbing a 16-year-old girl's genitals while she slept has been found not guilty.
The two-day trial was held over Wednesday and Thursday in Gladstone District Court.
The jury of eight men and four women returned the 'not guilty' verdict late on Thursday.
The girl, who is now 19 years old, accused her sister's ex-finace of sexually abusing her during a visit to their home on April 6, 2010.
She claimed to have fallen asleep on the couch to be woken by the man rubbing her vagina "up and down" on the outside of her pants.
In a text message to her friends sent the same night, the girl wrote, "My sister's boyfriend was feeling my vagina while I was asleep. I woke up and I was really confused. I just moved away... I don't know if I can tell my sister because she has nowhere else to live if they brake (sic) up."
Defence barrister David Murray accused the girl of flat-out lying.
"I'm going to put it to you that you're lying," he said during his cross-examination on Wednesday.
"You've always been a person who has had trouble with the truth, right from when you were a little girl.
"It's not the first time you've made a claim of someone sexually attacking you. You said your previous ex-boyfriend and best friend tried to rape you while you were asleep."
He said the girl made up the whole story in an attempt to break up the relationship between the man and her sister.
"You hated him because he wasn't a Muslim. He was an infidel," he said.
The girl denied this, stating she did not believe in religion.
Her mother, however, swore on the Koran before her testimony the same day.
Judge Gregory Koppenol denied Mr Murray's cross examination was too tough on the witness after a juror voiced his concerns.
"If you or any of your friends and or family were accused of the same charges as this man faces, you would want that barrister to test the man or woman's evidence," he said.
"They are obliged to test and challenge the evidence put before the court.
"I've seen much more robust cross-examinations in court."
He urged the jury to keep in mind their decision was based on the evidence and not the counsel.
"You must make a verdict based on evidence and not whether you like Mr Murray or not," he said.
"This is a criminal court. This is not a kindergarten."
