Man found guilty on five of six charges

Farmer sexually assaulted massage student

A DAIRY farmer accused of sexually assaulting a massage therapist student has been found guilty by a jury on five of the six charges he faced.

The 36yearold man, who has interim name suppression, has been on trial before Judge Bernadette Farnan at the Invercargill District Court since the beginning of the week.

After about seven hours of deliberation, a jury yesterday found the man guilty on four counts of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault.

As the foreperson repeated ‘‘guilty’’, the defendant stood in the dock with his eyes full of tears.

He told his wife, who was sitting in the public gallery, to be strong and he would come back.

The investigation began in June 2018 after a SIT massage therapist student told the police the man kissed and touched her breast and groin area without her consent during an appointment at his home.

Crown prosecutor MaryJane Thomas told jurors during her closing address there was no reason to believe the events were consensual.

She admitted the complainant made some poor decisions, including remaining at the home after the incident.

However, the reason for that was because she needed money, and massage provided her only income, Mrs Thomas said.

Mrs Thomas highlighted that DNA was found on the complaint’s pubis.

But defence counsel Bill Dawkins said the complainant’s account was not credible.

He said it was not logical she was willing to stay and massage the man after he allegedly asked if he could place his hands on her.

Mr Dawkins also asked why she kept scheduled appointments with him if it was true that he had asked her, in the first appointment, if she did a ‘‘happy ending’’.

However, the jury unanimously found the defendant guilty.

After the verdict, Judge Farnan thanked the jury and remanded the man until his sentencing on November 27.