February 6, 2013
A Kingaroy man, found guilty of raping a 20-year-old woman after tying her wrists to the bedhead with duct tape, has been sentenced to six years’ jail.
A District Court jury sitting in Kingaroy yesterday found Jay Michael Postchild, 25, guilty of one charge of rape over the incident which occurred in house in Lara Court, Kingaroy, on May 10 last year.
Postchild had pleaded not guilty to the charge, claiming the sex was consensual.
He admitted using duct tape to constrain the woman, but also claimed this was with her consent. Police located pieces of duct tape in a waste paper bin in the bedroom.
The woman gave evidence that Postchild had “ripped back” her arms and taped them to the bedhead while kneeling on her shoulders to stop her resisting. When she tried to call out, he placed a strip of tape over her mouth, she said.
The victim delayed reporting the incident but when examined at Kingaroy Hospital a week later complained of pain in her left wrist and leg which she said was the result of being tied down and trying to fight off Postchild.
Barrister Mr Harry Fong, for Postchild, said the Crown case came down to the credibility of the woman.
“Is she a reliable or truthful witness?” he asked.
He submitted to the court a copy of a video shot on a mobile telephone which showed the woman apparently laughing at Postchild’s birthday party just two days after the incident.
However Crown Prosecutor Clare Hurley said the woman was extremely intoxicated when the video was shot.
Judge Greg Koppenol sentenced Postchild to six years’ jail, with the 170 days he had already spent in custody marked as time served.
He recommended he be released on parole after serving half the sentence, which would mean a release date of June 5, 2015.
