Seti Palei Moala was acquitted of almost all of his charges at a jury trial earlier this year. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to an alleged sexual assault.
A man acquitted of rape by a jury has admitted having sex with his victim, leading the ACT’s chief justice to remark there had been an “extraordinary injustice” in the case, but she was bound by the verdicts when imposing a sentence.
Seti Palei Moala had faced an ACT Supreme Court jury trial alongside 35-year-old Paula Fala Kata, in which they had been accused of raping a woman at the Lyneham Motor Inn on 3 April 2022, both separately and together.
While jurors ultimately found them not guilty of all sexual assault charges last month, acquitting them completely of the alleged rape, Moala was found guilty of choking his victim.
The 28-year-old testified during his sentencing hearing on Monday (16 October) and his lawyer, Edward Chen, asked him what he had been thinking about his victim’s state of mind when he had been holding her down during the incident.
“We were having sex,” he answered.
Afterwards, his victim, who was watching in the courtroom’s gallery, stood up and yelled at him before she left the courtroom.
“How can he get off on that? That’s f-ing disgusting,” she yelled.
“You’re a rapist and you’re a pig.”
One of her supporters also yelled at him before leaving the courtroom as well.
The court then heard Mr Chen had suggested to the victim that she and Moala hadn’t had sex when he was cross-examining her during the trial.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said it was an “extraordinary injustice”, but she was bound by the jury’s verdict when determining a sentence.
At the end of the day’s hearing, the chief justice said she wanted to explain something as she knew the victim had returned to the courtroom.
She said she was bound to apply the law so she must deal with the case in a manner that was consistent with the jury’s verdict.
Chief Justice McCallum did say it was an extraordinary situation and that she wanted to acknowledge the victim’s courage in reading her victim impact statement to the court.
Earlier, the victim had told the court that countless questions had been swirling around inside her, like, “Why me, and what did I ever do to deserve the pain you inflicted on me?”
“I pleaded with you to stop and those were pleas that you callously ignored,” she said to Moala.
But she wanted him to know that she had reclaimed her life.
“At the end of this day, I no longer feel sorry for myself; instead, I feel sorry for you,” she told him.
“To move forward, I’ve chosen to forgive you, but I’ll never forget.”
Her supporters stood in the courtroom’s gallery and clapped when she finished.
During the trial, Mr Chen had suggested to the victim that after she’d had consensual sex with Mr Kata in the hotel, two men walked into their room while she was still awake and she made eye contact with the “younger man” – being Moala.
Mr Chen suggested this man lay down next to her and they began talking before he lay on top of her, then they started kissing and wrestling in a “playful manner”. He suggested the man had tried to have sex with her, but she kicked him away, which ended their interaction.
The victim said she could not recall or disagree with his comments.
Mr Chen also suggested the “younger man” had never had penetrative sex with her, nor that he had done any sex acts with her and Mr Kala at the same time.
“That’s incorrect,” she replied to both suggestions.
During the sentencing hearing on Monday, Mr Chen said his client had made “surprising” admissions, but he argued the offending was an uncharacteristic aberration and if it was put aside, then Moala had been “a good person” who had come to Australia to support this family.
He said the chief justice could show a significant degree of leniency in her sentence, but prosecutor Melanie O’Connell argued there was still no evidence of remorse.
Earlier, she’d asked Moala why he had choked his victim.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Chief Justice McCallum will hand down her sentence later in October.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact 1800RESPECT, the national domestic and sexual violence support service by calling 1800 737 732.
Help is also available at:
Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line – 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia – 1300 789 978.
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