Lynette Kaye Stewart

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Charge:	Sexual Assault (includes aggravated)
Sentence:	2 years
Years Imprisoned:	1.5
Year Crime:	2003
Year Convicted:	2005
Year Cleared:	2011
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New Zealand
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Masterton
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Kristina Rachael Oliver and Lynette Kaye Stewart were co-defendants. The women were a lesbian couple, and they were wrongly convicted on November 3, 2005 of sexually assaulting a woman in December 2003 that they had invited to their house for coffee. The women's defense was the incident never happened, but the jury believed the woman's claim that she had been assaulted by Oliver and that Stewart had encouraged her. It was the first time in New Zealand's history that women were convicted of sexually assaulting another woman. In December 2005 Oliver was sentenced to 6 years in prison and Stewart, who the judge said made no effort to intervene, was sentenced to 2 years in prison. In 2006 NZ's Court of Appeal affirmed Stewart's conviction and sentence. The Court of Appeal overturned Oliver's conviction on July 31, 2007 based on new evidence by a medical specialist that the complainant's injuries were inconsistent with what she said had occurred. She was acquitted on February 19, 2008 after a retrial when the prosecution did not present any evidence against her. The charges against Oliver were dismissed when the prosecution offered no evidence at her retrial and she was considered acquitted. Stewart's conviction was quashed by New Zealand's Supreme Court on June 2, 2011 on the basis that it was a miscarriage of justice for her to be convicted of charges related to a crime when 'There was a reasonable doubt that it took place at all.'"
Conviction Caused By:	The alleged victim's perjurious testimony about a non-existent sexual assault.
Innocence Proved By:	"Conviction quashed by New Zealand's Supreme Court on June 2, 2011."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	37
Age When Released:	39
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Lynette Kaye Stewart v The Queen, [2011] NZSC 62 (NZ Supreme Court, June 2, 2011)"
Information Location 1:	http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/cases/stewart-v-r-2/at_download/fileDecision
Information Source 2:	"Conviction for lesbian sex attack quashed, The Dominion Post, June 3, 2011"
Information Location 2:	http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/5094366/Conviction-for-lesbian-sex-attack-quashed
Information Source 3:	"Lesbians guilty of sex attack, Wairarapa Times-Age, November 4, 2005"
Information Location 3:	http://www.times-age.co.nz/local/news/lesbians-guilty-of-sex-attack/3659562/
Information Source 4:	R v Oliver [2007] NZCA 326.
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:	"R V Kristina Rachael Oliver, CA 487-05, 31 July 2007"
Information Location 5:
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Lynette Kaye Stewart

Charge:

Sexual Assault (includes aggravated)

Sentence:

2 years

Years Imprisoned:

1.5

Year Crime:

2003

Year Convicted:

2005

Year Cleared:

2011

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New Zealand

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Masterton

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

The alleged victim's perjurious testimony about a non-existent sexual assault.

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction quashed by New Zealand's Supreme Court on June 2, 2011."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

37

Age When Released:

39

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Lynette Kaye Stewart v The Queen, [2011] NZSC 62 (NZ Supreme Court, June 2, 2011)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/cases/stewart-v-r-2/at_download/fileDecision

Information Source 2:

"Conviction for lesbian sex attack quashed, The Dominion Post, June 3, 2011"

Information Location 2:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/5094366/Conviction-for-lesbian-sex-attack-quashed

Information Source 3:

"Lesbians guilty of sex attack, Wairarapa Times-Age, November 4, 2005"

Information Location 3:

http://www.times-age.co.nz/local/news/lesbians-guilty-of-sex-attack/3659562/

Information Source 4:

R v Oliver [2007] NZCA 326.

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

"R V Kristina Rachael Oliver, CA 487-05, 31 July 2007"

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: