UK man’s rape conviction quashed in Sydney

GB news 24 desk//

A UK man who was found guilty last year of raping a sleeping woman in Australia has had his conviction quashed.

Scott Harry Richardson will now face a retrial over the alleged attack on a US backpacker in Sydney in 2016, a court of appeal ruled.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that it followed the discovery of new DNA evidence.

Mr Richardson, who pleaded not guilty, had been serving a minimum two-year jail sentence.

During the 12-day trial last year, the court heard that the woman had fallen asleep on a couch before waking to find a man raping her.

Mr Richardson testified that he had jumped on top of a duvet covering the woman, after mistaking her for a friend – but then immediately left after realising his error.

On Monday, the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that a DNA test conducted recently had provided new evidence, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The decision could have ramifications for other cases, the newspaper said, because that type of DNA test is not currently used in New South Wales.

Mr Richardson is expected to apply for bail.