Luke Lazarus was in May acquitted of the alleged 2013 rape of an 18-year-old virgin in a Kings Cross alleyway
Accused rapists who unreasonably but ‘honestly believe there is consent’ should be found not guilty, according to the NSW Bar Association.
The state government commissioned a review of consent laws in May after Luke Lazarus was acquitted of the alleged 2013 rape of an 18-year-old virgin in a Kings Cross alleyway.
Under current NSW legislation, a person who doesn’t have ‘reasonable grounds’ for believing there is consent is deemed to have knowledge of its absence.
Lazarus was in 2015 found guilty of raping Saxon Mullins, but was granted a retrial and acquitted after it was ruled his belief in consent was reasonable.
In its submission to the Law Reform Commission, the NSW Bar Association, which represents the state’s barristers, called for amendments to sexual consent laws.
Lazarus was in 2015 found guilty of raping Saxon Mullins, but was granted a retrial and acquitted after it was ruled his belief in consent was reasonable
‘A person should not be liable to conviction for sexual assault in circumstances where he or she honestly believes that there is consent,’ the submission reads.
The submission noted that when a jury finds there are no reasonable grounds for believing in consent, it would in most cases conclude the accused knew the victim did not consent.
Bar Association President Arthur Moses told the Sydney Morning Herald sexual consent is a difficult area of law involving ‘many complex human and criminal law factors’.
Lazarus claimed he believed Ms Mullins ‘wanted to be there’ during their encounter
The Association said it did not support changing the law to reflect provisions in Tasmania, which states a person does not consent unless they ‘say or do anything to communicate consent’.
The Police Association of NSW said it supports reforms which ‘require persons who engage in sexual activity to actively ensure sexual partners consent to all activity engaged in’.
The NSW Law Society said it does not support any changes to consent laws.
Lazarus broke his silence over his acquittal in an interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham in May, claiming he believed Ms Mullins ‘wanted to be there’ during their encounter.
‘Her physical body language and everything she did physically told me that she wanted to be there,’ he said.
‘I witnessed in front of me a woman participating in sex.
‘So if I’m a man assessing a situation and I’m watching a woman not only consent but participate as she has admitted then I’d ask you, how is a man to know that a woman is not consenting when she is participating?’
CCTV from the Soho nightclub showed Lazarus taking Ms Mullins by the hand and directing her outside
Mr Lazarus said in the interview Ms Mullins never used the word ‘no’ while they were having sex.
CCTV from the Soho nightclub, which Lazarus’ father owned and has since shut down, showed Lazarus taking Ms Mullins by the hand and directing her outside.
Ms Mullins said she was ordered to get ‘on all fours and arch her back’ against a wall behind the club just four minutes after they met.
‘I thought just do what he says and then you can go… And he had anal sex with me,’ she told the ABC.
Ms Mullins said she was ordered to get ‘on all fours and arch her back’ against a wall behind the club
Three months after the incident Lazarus was charged with having sex without consent.
In 2015, Lazarus was initially found guilty after a trial by jury and was sentenced to least three years’ jail.
He served 11 months before being granted a fresh trial after a successful appeal.
Lazarus was in May acquitted of the alleged rape.
Lazarus served 11 months’ jail before being granted a fresh trial after a successful appeal