A woman who pleaded not guilty to raping a transgender man while he slept messaged the complainant days later to apologize for touching him and claiming she thought he ‘wanted it’, a jury has been told .
Natalia Marjorie Hanson stood trial in the Brisbane District Court accused of digitally raping the man, who was transitioning from female to male at the time of the alleged incident more than three years ago.
Natalia Marjorie Hanson stood trial in the Brisbane District Court accused of digitally raping the man, who was transitioning from female to male at the time of the alleged incident more than three years ago.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
It took about an hour for a jury to reach a unanimous verdict after being sent out for deliberations on Wednesday.
During closing arguments on Wednesday, Ms Hanson’s defense team urged the jury to carefully weigh the evidence presented by the complainant and consider whether they had any doubts about the element of consent.
“That is the basis on which you would find Ms. Hanson not guilty,” defense attorney Charlotte Smith said.
Natalia Hanson is accused of digitally raping the man after she was invited to his home in 2020
During closing arguments on Wednesday, Ms Hanson’s defense team urged the jury to carefully weigh the complainant’s evidence and consider whether they had any doubts about the element of consent.
Throughout the trial, the Crown has argued that the man woke up with “vaginal pain” and that Ms Hanson digitally raped him on June 29, 2020.
The pair had messaged via Snapchat and Ms Hanson went to his house that same day.
But Ms Hanson’s defense team has said the acts were consensual, citing a police interview in which she gave an ‘honest’ account of events.
During her closing argument, Crown prosecutor Victoria Adams recited further messages between Ms Hanson and the complainant days after the alleged crime.
The man sent Ms Hanson a message saying: ‘Why the hell did you touch me while I was sleeping?’
She replied, “I thought you wanted it.” I’m sorry.’
Crown prosecutor Victoria Adams said Ms Hanson sent another message saying ‘all I can say is I’m sorry’, with the man replying: ‘You’re lucky I didn’t report it’.
The court was told that Mrs Hanson then said: ‘I’m sorry, I always manage to mess everything up, I’ll leave you alone, I don’t want to hurt you more than I have, but just know that. I’m sorry and you won’t hear or see me again.’
“To use this evidence as a confession against interest, you must be satisfied that the defendant wrote these messages… (and) the messages accurately reflect a confession against interest, and these confessions indicate the defendant’s guilt,” Ms. Adams said.
The court was told that the main question at trial was whether the complainant had consented to the act.
Ms Adams said the pair were not in an intimate relationship at the time.
“It is up to you to decide whether to accept the complainant’s evidence,” Ms Adams said.
Ms Adams pointed out “contradictions” in Ms Hanson’s interview with police, including claims she “didn’t pursue relationships” because she liked to have “multiple partners at the same time”.
“They’re going for credibility and reliability,” Ms. Adams said.
A jury heard closing statements from the defense and prosecution during the trial
Ms Smith used her closing to urge the jury to carefully consider the man’s evidence, which she said was ‘unreliable’.
“He said the words ‘I don’t remember’ 50 times in his testimony,” she said.
‘There were other times when he might have said something else that indicated a lack of memory – ‘I don’t remember’ for example.
‘The number of expressions… was striking.’
Ms Smith said her client’s interview with police was “honest” because she was candid about factors such as her drug use.
In the interview, Ms Hanson is heard saying she heard the man ‘moaning’ during oral sex.
“He was quite happy, everything was going well for him,” she said in the interview.
‘He got up, took a shower. Then I said goodbye and went home.
“That was the first time.”
Mrs. Hanson then tells detectives that she stopped when she noticed “a little bit of blood.”
“Because I had long nails at the time, I scraped and scratched a little… as soon as I saw a little bit of blood, I immediately stopped and told him,” she says.
The man then took a shower before telling Mrs Hanson: ‘I’ve never bled like that before.’
In the interview, Ms Hanson told police there was ‘no indication’ that the actions with the man were not consensual.
“No, please stop,” no “I don’t want this,” Ms. Hanson tells police.