John Hope Muchirahondo is on trial in the High Court in Christchurch on multiple charges. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
- John Muchirahondo is facing 21 charges of sexual violation by rape, and 9 of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection
- The Crown says many of the women were drunk, and Muchirahondo had sex with them without their consent
- The defence today started its closing address
The defence for a man accused of multiple rape and sexual violation charges says the jury needs to purely look at the facts of the case, and not whether they like the accused man or approve of his manners.
In the High Court in Christchurch, John Hope Muchirahondo is facing 21 charges of sexual violation by rape, and nine of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and one of not providing access to a cell phone.
Defence lawyer Anselm Williams told the court that the Crown had presented very emotive evidence in its closing address, with statements from women who say they were raped or sexually assaulted by Muchirahondo after drunken nights out, or while in a relationship with him.
But Williams said emotion was irrelevant when it came to deciding the accused's guilt, and they should only consider the facts.
"It's not my job to convince you to like Mr Muchirahondo, it's not my job to defend his character. Questions of morals, views and attitudes in this case are of very little importance, the real questions are questions of facts."
Williams also went over the accusation from the first complainant in February 2021, who sparked the police investigation.
He said the woman now said it definitely was Muchirahondo who sexually assaulted her after a drunken night out.
Williams said on the day she reported the crime, the woman said she did not know who had assaulted her, and described a man with different hair and clothes than Muchirahondo.
She also had no memory of kissing Muchirahondo on a nightclub dancefloor, despite video evidence confirming it.
"She had significant issues with her memory that night," said Williams, "including incidents like the kiss which you would expect her clearly to remember. After the event we know she spoke to her friend trying to piece it together. And when she came to court she was confident that the person, who she coudn't identify directly after this, was Mr Muchirahondo."
Williams said confidence should not be confused for reliability.
He said Muchirahondo denies having had sex with the complainant, and said it could have been another person who was in the house that night.
Williams said the fallibility of memory was a key issue, with many of the women piecing together events of a drunken night out, and in some cases from years ago.
He said the jury needed to consider the factors that may have had a role in putting together incorrect memories for the complainants.
"Police were actively finding complainants, they were describing Mr Muchirahondo to witnesses, they were telling complainants that this was a large investigation, that there were many complainants, and many people were saying similar things."
Williams said none of the allegations involved physical violence.
He said Muchirahondo was persistent when pursuing sex, with one complainant described him as persuading her to have sex.
"He is doing that with words, with body movements, rather than being physically violent or forceful. It is cases of this type you must take real care to not equate persistence and selfishness with guilt. "
Williams said Muchirahondo grew up in Zimbabwe until young adulthood and was brought up in an area with more traditional gender roles, and a different attitude to sex.
He said Muchirahonda's persistence when seeking sex may seem unusual, but he always believed he had consent for any sexual activity.
The defence's closing address will continue tomorrow.
Where to get help:
Victim Support 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - push 0 at the menu
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.