Two males discovered responsible of raping a 15-year-old lady at an 18th party have been launched on bail after the pair appealed in opposition to their convictions.
A jury discovered Patrick Morie Bannah, 28, and Jonathan Zahinda, 26, responsible of raping an intoxicated teen in Adelaide District Courtroom final November.
Bannah, an award-winning afrobeat artist and producer from Adelaide’s north, was additionally discovered responsible of tried rape whereas Zahinda was later discovered responsible of dissuading a witness.
The pair had been jailed for six years in February after the court docket heard they raped the lady at a celebration held at an Adelaide Airbnb condominium in October 2020.
Their counsels have raised considerations over the jury’s verdicts with the Courtroom of Attraction, claiming there was not sufficient proof to convict.
The court docket granted Bannah, who was already on bail, easy bail circumstances to not contact the sufferer on Tuesday.
Zahinda, from Bordertown was granted bail on related circumstances and launched from Mount Gambier jail, the Adelaide Advertiser reported.
Their attraction stems from the sufferer figuring out Bannah 10 months after the incident, which his lawyer John Wilson argued ought to have been dismissed from proof.
Two males convicted for raping a 15-year-old lady at a party, Patrick Morie Bannah (pictured) and Jonathan Zahinda, have been launched on bail after interesting the jury’s resolution
Mr Wilson advised the Courtroom of Attraction that the sufferer had seen images of his consumer on Instagram which precipitated her to expertise a ‘displacement impact’ and determine him as her rapist in a police line-up.
‘The identification process had been so compromised by that potential displacement impact it couldn’t meaningfully help the jury,’ he mentioned, the Advertiser reviews.
Prosecution lawyer Ahura Kalali advised the court docket throughout the trial that the lady drank alcohol for the primary time and used hashish earlier than heading right into a bed room.
Bannah adopted the 15-year-old into the room and touched her vagina whereas she requested him to ‘cease’, earlier than making an attempt to push him away.
He then assaulted the sufferer once more earlier than leaving the room.
Zahinda got here into the room later within the night time and raped the younger teen.
The court docket heard the sufferer’s buddy caught Zahinda ‘red-handed’ in mattress together with her and yelled at him: ‘Cease, she’s solely 15.’
Mr Kalali mentioned: ‘She’s going to let you know that she was offended and shouted at him, advised him “f**ok off out” and he bought off her, off on to the ground and was grabbing his garments and was making his means out of the condominium.’
Jonathan Zahinda (pictured) has been launched from jail after launching an attraction in opposition to his sentence
Prosecutor Martin Hinton KC, advised the court docket that the sufferer noticed Bannah’s script tattoo throughout the rape, which is what led to trying on the Instagram photograph.
‘A script tattoo between elbow and wrist just isn’t the kind of tattoo that half the Collingwood soccer membership has … it’s a very distinctive tattoo,’ he mentioned.
Bannah’s earlier lawyer, Michelle Barnes, argued throughout the trial that the outline of his tattoo did not match what he was carrying on the night time of the assault.
The court docket heard his tattoo sleeve would have been hidden by his jacket and he was carrying a black T-shirt whereas the sufferer described a white button-up.
Mr Wilson argued on Tuesday that proof, together with the identification process, ought to have been excluded from the trial.
Zahinda’s lawyer, Andrew Culshaw, advised the court docket throughout the trial that there was sufficient proof to convict his consumer, having been seen by the get together’s host.
He nevertheless argued on Tuesday that any miscarriage of justice decided within the jury’s verdict of Bannah must also be related for his consumer’s conviction.
Justices Sophie David, Kevin Nicholson and David Lovell have reserved their resolution.
