Acquittal in blackmail-for-sex trial
A Christchurch man has been acquitted on all charges at the end of a four-day blackmail-for-sex trial in the High Court.
Justice Cameron Mander discharged Liam James Purcell and told him he was free to go when the jury returned its verdicts after about two hours of deliberation.
The Crown had alleged Purcell, 43, had coerced a Filipino woman into sex by threatening to disclose naked pictures he had found on her laptop computer after offering to fix the machine.
He had denied two charges of having unlawful sexual connection knowing that consent had been induced by at threat, and two of blackmail.
One of the blackmail charges was dismissed after a defence application at the end of the Crown case on Wednesday.
The woman had recently moved to Christchurch from overseas and the defence questioned her about on-line exchanges she had had with Purcell before two meetings she had with him where she claimed she was coerced into oral sex.
Before embarking on a long and detailed cross-examination of the complainant, defence counsel James Rapley had told the jury that the issues in the trial would be consent and credibility.
Purcell did not give evidence at the trial. Through his lawyer, he declined to comment to media after the verdicts.
Mr Rapley and Penny Brown appeared for the defence. Kathy Bell appeared for the Crown.
Category: Focus
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