Man sues wife, cops over false rape case
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Deborah Cornwall Journalist
A Sydney man is suing his former wife, the NSW Police Force and a crown prosecutor for malicious prosecution and damages, accusing them of causing him “severe mental anguish” after persisting with false rape charges against him by his former wife.
The man, identified only as DC, alleges his former wife was a medical practitioner with a serious prescription drug addiction when she set out to destroy his reputation after the pair had consensual sex on June 19, 2015, at their former matrimonial home.
After leaving the home he claims his then wife went straight to police and made a “false” report that she had been physically and sexually assaulted by her estranged husband. But he says his ex-partner had been unaware at the time that their encounter had been captured on a security video camera he had installed in the lounge room after their split.
DC’s lawyer, Greg Walsh, said the police investigators and the prosecutor had failed to properly test the woman’s allegations, including text messages between the pair after the alleged rape which were “utterly inconsistent with her having been allegedly assaulted and sexually assaulted”.
Mr Walsh said the prosecutor had also demonstrated malice by ignoring the CCTV security vision of the couple’s sexual encounter, which would have provided “substantial evidence” of his client’s innocence.
He said the CCTV footage, a series of still images, showed the woman’s version of events had been “wilfully false”. This included critical evidence that the pair did not have sex until 55 minutes after she entered the house, which was “completely contrary to her assertion” that her husband had attacked her on arrival.
Mr Walsh said when he tried to bring the CCTV vision to the prosecutor’s attention, the prosecutor had retaliated by laying more charges against his client based on the CCTV images, including attempted anal rape.
But in subsequent communications, he said, the prosecutor denied ever sighting the CCTV footage, even though they had been included in the police brief provided to the defence.
Mr Walsh said after DC’s wife realised there was CCTV footage, she and other family members had hired a private investigator in an “attempt to compromise or otherwise prejudice” her former husband.
The statement of claim alleges the woman deliberately fabricated the rape claims after discovering her husband had told one of her medical colleagues she had a “longstanding addiction to prescription drugs”. Its also alleged he told the colleague his wife’s addiction had driven her to illegally prescribe drugs for herself and compromised her capacity to perform as a medical practitioner.
Mr Walsh said the prosecution had failed to take into account the “animus” the woman felt towards her estranged husband.
District Court judge Mark Williams directed the jury at DC’s 2017 trial to find him not guilty on six of eight charges, including the rape and physical assault offences. He was convicted of damaging his wife’s phone and failing to properly store a firearm.
The police and Office of the Director of Public Prosecution have denied the allegations.
See conclusion to this case at:
