Gay rape charges against Wellington businessman James Bernard Quin have been dropped by Vanuatu police, after the two young accusers admitted sex was consensual. A 21 year old Fijian and an 18 year old Vanuatu man told police they had been raped by Quin on board his yacht in March. Video taken at the time, however, supported Quin's defence that all sex was consensual between the three men. Quin was also charged with indecent assault and possession of cannabis. Those charges were also dropped for lack of evidence. If charged on all counts, Quin faced up to 10 years in a Vanuatu prison. Defence lawyer Nigel Morrison said "the boys (eventually) acknowledged the fact that what they had said originally was not entirely true and as a result the police realised that they couldn't sensibly proceed."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 22nd September 2005 - 12:00pm