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Nicholas Gonzales, 23, told a court in Australia that sex
with the 24-year-old woman was consensual, despite her claim he had ripped
off her size six skinny jeans before the attack.
The Sydney jury sent a note to the judge during the trial asking for more
information about 'how exactly Nick took off her jeans'.
The note from a jury member added: 'I doubt those kind of jeans can be
removed without any sort of collaboration.'
The not guilty finding follows two other courts - in Seoul and Italy -
dealing with the question of whether a woman wearing the tight-fitting jeans
can be raped.
In the Seoul case in 2008, the court overturned a seven-year sentence of a
man convicted of raping a woman wearing skinny jeans.
But in the same year an Italian court upheld a rape conviction, ruling that
'jeans cannot be compared to any type of chastity belt.'
Mr Gonzales, the Sydney court was told, had met his victim for drinks in
April 2008 before going to his house to listen to music.
The woman said they had gone upstairs to his room so he could play his drums
- but he had pushed her onto the bed and lay on top of her.
'I struggled to try to get up for a while and then he undid my jeans and he
pulled them off,' she said, before adding that she was then raped.
Questioned by defence lawyer Paul Hogan, the woman said she weighed 42
kilograms (6.6 stone) and did not find it difficult to squeeze in and out of
her jeans.
Mr Hogan said: 'I'm suggesting it's difficult for skinny jeans to be taken
off by someone else unless the wearer's assisting, collaborating,
consenting.' 'Ii would disagree,' the woman replied.
Miss Veronica Wensing, chairwoman of the National Association of Services
Against Sexual Assault, told the Sydney Morning Herald that a woman's outfit
should not be an issue in alleged rapes.
'Any piece of clothing can be removed with force,' she said. |
