Adelaide rape: Two men convicted of raping 15-year-old girl freed as they await appeal, claiming jury got it wrong

Two men found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl at an 18th birthday party have been released on bail after the pair appealed their convictions.

A jury found Patrick Morie Bannah, 28, and Jonathan Zahinda, 26, guilty of raping a drunken teenager in the Adelaide District Court in November last year.

Bannah, an award-winning Afrobeat artist and producer from Adelaide’s north, was also found guilty of attempted rape, while Zahinda was later found guilty of discouraging a witness.

The pair were sentenced to six years in prison in February after the court heard they raped the girl during a party at an Airbnb apartment in Adelaide in October 2020.

Their lawyers have raised concerns at the Court of Appeal about the jury’s verdicts, saying there is not enough evidence to convict them.

The court gave Bannah, who was already on bail, simple bail conditions: she is not allowed to contact the victim on Tuesday.

Zahinda, from Bordertown, was granted bail on similar conditions and released from Mount Gambier Prison, the Adelaide Advertiser reported.

Their appeal is based on the fact that the victim identified Bannah 10 months after the incident, which his lawyer John Wilson said should not have been used as evidence.

Mr Wilson told the Court of Appeal that the victim had seen photos of his client on Instagram, causing her to experience a “crowding out effect” and identify him as her rapist when police placed him in a line-up.

“The identification procedure was so compromised by that potential crowding-out effect that it could not meaningfully assist the jury,” he said, the Advertiser reports.

Public prosecutor Ahura Kalali told the court during the trial that the girl drank alcohol and used cannabis for the first time before going to the bedroom.

Bannah followed the 15-year-old into the room and touched her vagina while asking him to “stop,” before trying to push him away.

He then attacked the victim again before leaving the room.

Zahinda entered the room later that night and raped the young teenager.

The court heard the victim’s boyfriend caught Zahinda red-handed when he was in bed with her and shouted at him: “Stop, she’s only 15.”

Mr Kalali said: ‘She will tell you she was angry and shouted at him, that he told him to “fuck off” and that he climbed off her, fell to the floor, grabbed his clothes and ran out of the apartment.’

Jonathan Zahinda (pictured) has been released from prison after appealing his sentence

Prosecutor Martin Hinton KC told the court the victim had seen Bannah’s script tattoo during the rape, which led to her viewing the Instagram photo.

“A script tattoo between the elbow and the wrist is not the kind of tattoo that half the Collingwood football club has… it’s a very noticeable tattoo,” he said.

Bannah’s previous attorney, Michelle Barnes, argued during the trial that the description of his tattoo did not match what he was wearing the night of the attack.

The court heard his tattooed sleeve was hidden under his jacket and he was wearing a black T-shirt, while the victim described it as a white shirt.

Mr Wilson argued on Tuesday that evidence, including the identification procedure, should have been excluded from the trial.

Zahinda’s lawyer, Andrew Culshaw, told the court during the trial that there was sufficient evidence to convict his client, as he had been seen by the party host.

However, he argued Tuesday that any miscarriage of justice the jury finds in its verdict on Bannah should also be relevant to his client’s conviction.

Judges Sophie David, Kevin Nicholson and David Lovell reserved their decision.