WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- A New Zealand woman who was raped by a bar bouncer could have simply "closed her legs" if she didn't want sex, the defendant's lawyer told a jury.
Keith Jefferies told the Wellington District Court that the accuser didn't "close her legs" because the sex was consensual with George Jason Pule, who was convicted Wednesday of raping the drunk 20-year-old after telling her he'd help her get into a club so she could see her friends, The Dominion Post reported.
"All she would have had to do was to close her legs ... it's as simple as that," Jefferies told jurors. "Why didn't she do that? The reason she didn't do that was because the sex was consensual, as easy as that."
After the verdict, Wellington Rape Crisis director Natalie Gousmett called the attorney's comments "disgusting" and "disrespectful."
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Jefferies said his comments were part of the defense and didn't represent his personal view.
"This is the defense of a criminal charge," he said. "The crown and the judge didn't complain about it."
The case centered on whether sex was consensual, which made the complainant's position important, Jefferies said.
"The accused was of the view there was an element of willingness from the accuser, and that she was a willing partner," he said. "What I say to the jury doesn't represent my personal view. It merely represents the defense."
During the trial prosecutor Geraldine Kelly said the complainant held Pule's hand because she "thought he was her savior," but said when he tried to kiss and grope her then pushed her against a wall and raped her, she said no.
