Mother rapes daughter?

One would have thought that this would be seen as a fantasy from the beginning

A Mother of six who was jailed for more than three years for raping her daughter, then aged 8, was cleared of the offence on appeal today. In an unanimous judgment the Court of Appeal found six features of the trial worrying enough to quash the guilty verdict.

Justice Ken Mackenzie said he was left with a doubt if the woman had been convicted beyond reasonable doubt on the sole evidence of the complainant. He said a verdict of acquittal should be entered (which means there will be no retrial).

In the District Court at Southport in February, the woman, 41, was found guilty of digitally raping her eight-year-old daughter on an unknown date between November 2005 and February 2006, and was jailed for three-and-a-half years. She had pleaded not guilty.

The trial heard the offence when the child, who had been living with another family, was staying with her mother. The girl saw her mother standing in the doorway of her room holding a sex toy, or what the child called a "fake boy thing". While the girl was pretending to sleep, the mother entered the room, and inserted something into her vagina. The girl then "blanked out" and did not remember any other details.

The court was told the girl had been seen by a doctor but the examination was inconclusive. However, on appeal barrister John Allen argued there were so many inconsistencies in the girl's evidence her mother should never have been convicted.

Original report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)