Warning: This article discusses upsetting details of family violence.
A Wellington man faces trial on 25 charges, including sexual and physical assault, threatening to kill, and breaching a protection order, following allegations of years-long abuse against his wife, The New Zealand Herald reported. The accused, whose name is suppressed, denies all charges, claiming his wife is lying and that her accounts have changed over time to suit her interests.
The jury trial in the Wellington District Court, presided over by Judge Bill Hastings, is expected to last several weeks.
Opening the Crown’s case, prosecutor Madeleine Story described a marriage marked by control and violence. The couple, who moved to New Zealand in 2017 and settled in Wellington, saw their relationship unravel in June 2022 when the wife contacted police alleging her husband had physically assaulted her.
She claimed he had punched her in the head, back, and abdomen and threatened to kill her when she expressed her intention to report him to the authorities. During her police interview, she also accused her husband of sexually assaulting her throughout their marriage.
The Crown alleges that the husband forced his wife to use sex toys, watch pornography, and endure physical violence during sex, despite her begging him to stop. The wife reportedly told police that if she refused his advances, he would beat her or deny her access to their son.
“He did whatever he wanted to her body, regardless of her pleas,” Story told the jury.
The court heard of regular beatings with fists or shoes, threats with a knife, and incidents where the husband allegedly threw hot tea and hot water—once involving their young son. During the COVID-19 lockdown, he reportedly forced her to drink wine, hitting her with the glass when she refused. He also allegedly sprayed perfume over her face on multiple occasions.
The alleged abuse continued until police laid charges in 2022. A protection order was issued, barring the husband from contacting his ex-wife or encouraging others to do so.
However, the Crown claims that in 2023, two women connected to the husband offered the wife money to withdraw her complaint. When questioned, the husband admitted speaking to the women but framed it as an attempt at mediation.
In his opening statement, defence lawyer Gerry Dobbyn told the jury that the allegations were based almost entirely on the wife’s testimony, which he described as inconsistent and self-serving.
“Her account of the marriage has waxed and waned over time, changing to suit her interests,” Dobbyn argued. He urged the jury to consider whether the Crown had met its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
The jury will ultimately decide whether the husband’s alleged years-long campaign of abuse is substantiated by the evidence presented.
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