‘It’s OK, go back to sleep’ alleged serial rapist told victim, Crown says

Tuesday, 30 July 2024

Introducing himself as a “prince”, John Hope Muchirahondo filmed sleeping women as he raped them, targeted teenagers and had children with at least two of his victims.

This is the Crown’s case outlined in its opening address to the jury during a trial at the High Court in Christchurch on Tuesday.

Muchirahondo, 38, has pleaded not guilty to each of the 32 charges he faces.

He is accused of 22 charges of sexual violation by rape, nine of unlawful sexual connection, and one of failing to provide a pin code to his cellphone.

The alleged sexual abuse is said to have occurred over more than a decade, from August 2009 to March 2021.

Over the coming eight weeks, 15 women will tell the jury that they were raped by Muchirahondo, Crown prosecutor Will Taffs told jurors in his opening address.

The accused met many of the women at parties or on nights out and had sex with them at different stages of intoxication, sometimes when they were unconscious, Taffs said.

“Some didn’t know the sex had occurred and were only made aware when they were shown videos or photos by police.

“Some describe waking up, finding Mr Muchirahondo inside them, going in and out of consciousness, and him telling them to go back to sleep.”

For some of the women the abuse went on for years. Muchirahondo forced and pressured them to have sex with him, offending that dated back to 2009, Taffs said.

“On each occasion, he was simply helping himself to these women’s bodies with complete disregard for consent.”

Muchirahondo is well-known in footballing circles, having played for clubs in both Christchurch and Auckland.

Muchirahondo’s lawyer Anselm Williams urged jurors to take into account his client’s cultural background when considering the allegations, telling them he came to New Zealand from Zimbabwe as a young man, that his father had more than a dozen wives, and that he is one of 32 siblings.

‘It’s not my responsibility’

One by one, Taffs then laid out a summary of the evidence each of the 15 women who say they were raped by Muchirahondo will give during the course of the trial.

Many would describe being black-out drunk and waking up to Muchirahondo having sex with them, Taffs said. Some had met him on the night of the alleged offending for the first time, while others were friends of his, or had on-again, off-again relationships with him.

Two of the victims have had children with him. Another two were aged 15 and 18 at the time they were allegedly sexually abused.

One woman, who knew Muchirahondo as Hope, would describe seeing a “shadow of Hope” over her as she woke up on his bed.

He was having sex with her and she was confused, and could not stop what was happening, she would say. The incident allegedly happened in February 2021.

“She told him to stop, which he did. She cried, and he said, ‘Why are you crying, stop crying’,” Taffs told the jury.

She rang police that same night and reported being raped. Muchirahondo was arrested the following evening. He told police that no one was raped. They had hooked up earlier in the night but no sex happened because she was too drunk. He got her a bucket and left her, he said.

“He told police the girl was down and if it wasn’t for alcohol, they would’ve had sex,” Taffs said.

A second woman would similarly describe waking up with Muchirahondo on top of her having sex with her in August 2020.

The Crown would say that after driving the woman and a friend home, he then left, before returning 30 minutes later and entering the unlocked front door. He found two women in bed together, one of whom he then raped, Taffs told the jury.

The woman reported the incident in September 2021 after becoming aware of the police investigation into Muchirahondo.

Another woman would describe him introducing himself as a “prince” and that his name was “Jordan”. She recalled having consensual sex with him after a night out but then waking some hours later to him again having sex with her.

She told him to stop, but he continued, Taffs said.

Feeling defeated, she lay still until he was finished.

Another complainant would describe being black-out drunk, vomiting into a bucket and having no control over her body on the night of July 19 and 20, 2020.

Her last memory was of Muchirahondo coming into a bedroom to give her a bucket. When she next woke up, the lights were off, her clothes had been removed and he was having sex with her, Taffs said.

“She told him, ‘Please don’t, don’t, it hurts’. She thinks it stopped, but then she blacked out. When she woke up, he was performing oral sex on her.

“She again told him to stop, to which he said, ‘No baby, it’s OK, go back to sleep’.”

The woman described being drunk to the point she could only crawl to leave the room after the incident. She was hurting and her legs were like noodles, she said.

When the woman later confronted Muchirahondo about how drunk she was, he allegedly responded: “I knew you were drunk, it’s not my responsibility.”

At least two of the women would describe Muchirahondo taking them back to his mother’s house after nights out before waking up to him having sex with them.

In 2011, a then 15-year-old girl contacted Muchirahondo to buy her alcohol. They drank alcohol together at his home and she also woke up to him having sex with her. She freaked out, and asked to go outside to have a smoke, Taffs said. He didn’t stop, but soon after they were interrupted by one of his friends.

A woman who was in a relationship with Muchirahondo for years and has a child with him would tell the court she was first raped by him in March 2019. Their child was present in the home when Muchirahondo began pushing her towards the bedroom, laughing at her as she told him no.

“During, she had tears in her eyes, and he said, ‘You look sad”, but he did not stop and gestured for her to turn over, and he had sex with her until he was done,” Taffs said.

The woman would also say she was raped by Muchirahondo as early as a decade prior, in 2009, around the time they first met. She fell pregnant then too, but it was terminated, Taffs told the jury.

A second woman who also had a child with Muchirahondo would tell the jury she had consensual sex with him in March 2014 after a night out, before waking up at various times afterwards to him having sex with her again.

Some months later, Muchirahondo flew from Auckland to Christchurch to help with the care of their child. When he prompted the woman for sex, she said she wasn’t interested.

He laughed as he told her: “You’re with me, your body is mine”, Taffs said.

Videos and photographs of Muchirahondo engaging in sexual activity with women were found on his phones by police, Taffs said. These identified two further women who would give evidence to say they were asleep at the time, having taken strong sleeping pills.

One of them could be heard snoring as Muchirahondo filmed them, Taffs said.

In response, defence lawyer Anselm Williams said over the course of the trial the jury would hear a lot about his client, and urged them not to jump to conclusions.

“He’s currently 38 years of age. He came to New Zealand from Zimbabwe in August 2008 as a 22-year-old.

“His father had 13 wives and he is one of 32 siblings. He has a number of children to a number of different women in New Zealand.

“You need to bear in mind that background and the background you hear during the trial when you consider the allegations.”

This was a case of a man from another country facing serious allegations, Williams reminded.

“Your role is not to judge him on moral grounds. You may not agree with the views he expresses or the lifestyle he leads, but your job is to assess the evidence objectively, dispassionately and consider it against the law.”

Muchirahondo accepted he engaged in sexual activity with the women, Williams said.

“He just says it was with consent or reasonable belief of consent.

“He has never engaged in sexual activity without consent or reasonable belief of consent. He has never committed rape or sexual violation.”

The trial, set down for eight weeks in front of Justice Lisa Preston, is expected to hear from more than 100 witnesses including police, doctors, forensics and other experts.

The evidence continues.