David Dougherty

个人简介

David Brian Dougherty (29 March 1967 – 20 April 2017) was a New Zealander who was wrongfully convicted in 1993 on charges of abduction and the rape of an 11-year-old girl. Dougherty was her next door neighbour. The girl said she was kidnapped, "tied to a tree, drugged, raped and threatened to be killed." She said she recognised Dougherty's voice and saw his face when her blindfold slipped off. Dougherty denied the allegation and voluntarily provided a DNA sample. However, the results were inconclusive. At the trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to seven years, nine months in prison. Five months later, the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) detected another man's semen on the young girl's underclothes. Based on this new evidence, Dougherty took his case to the Court of Appeal - which was unsuccessful. Appearing in court, the young victim was certain she was correct, and made a convincing witness on the stand. In September 1995, Lawyer Murray Gibson and DNA expert Arie Geursen arranged for two overseas experts to look into the case. In January 1996, both scientists reported that the DNA tests "showed unequivocal evidence of another man’s semen" and said the partial "match" to Dougherty reported by the ESR was "likely to be accidental cross-reactions in the test kit". In April 1996 Gibson petitioned the Governor General under the Royal prerogative of mercy. The Governor General referred the matter back to the Court of Appeal, which quashed his conviction and ordered a retrial. In 1997, based on the updated DNA evidence, Dougherty was acquitted after serving over three years in prison. In 2003, Nicholas Reekie was found guilty of the rape.