A WA member of parliament is on trial in the District Court accused of sexually abusing a young girl in the south west between 2019 and 2021.
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00 James Haywood is a sitting member of WA's Upper House.
00:05 The independent MP, now sitting in the dock in the District Court,
00:09 accused of sexually abusing a young girl,
00:12 aged between six and eight, in WA's South West.
00:16 Mr Haywood is accused of indecently touching the child
00:19 and showing her how to search online for pornography.
00:22 Prosecutors say the 53-year-old admitted the offences
00:26 in an email to his wife,
00:28 referring to the allegations and then writing, "Which I have done."
00:32 In the same email, Mr Haywood said he was going to take his own life.
00:36 The MP denies any wrongdoing,
00:39 and the court heard he told police in an interview that his admission was false.
00:44 James Haywood's lawyers say neither the email nor his planned suicide
00:48 should be regarded as admissions of guilt.
00:50 They told the court that at the time, their client was under enormous pressure
00:55 and felt that he could not put himself, his family and the girl
00:58 through protracted and painful court proceedings.
01:01 Tom Percy said sending the email was a totally misguided gesture
01:05 and foolish in the extreme, adding it was an impetuous and irrational decision.
01:11 The jury was also urged to carefully scrutinise the girl's evidence,
01:15 with Mr Percy claiming her account of the allegations is, at best,
01:19 vague, patchy, inconclusive and inconsistent.
01:23 Mr Haywood is expected to testify at the trial, which is scheduled to run all week.
01:28 week.
01:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]