Wrongfully accused

Ordeal by jury: After serving almost 18 months in prison for a crime he did not commit, Farah Jama is now back home, having received compensation of half a million dollars. Photo: Julian Kingma

Seduced by DNA "evidence", but with precious little to corroborate it, a jury was quick to convict Farah Jama of rape. Julie Szego reports on a miscarriage of justice.

Stephanie Johnstone, nightclub supervisor, had been doing laps around Venue 28, in the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster, picking up glasses and plates and issuing orders to staff, when at 10.50pm a security guard approached her. There was a problem in the female toilets near Bar Three and the DJ booth. Johnstone went to check it out.

Walking into the toilet block, she saw a woman's leg poking out beneath the door of the first cubicle on the left. There was no sound from inside. Johnstone bent down. In the gap between the door and the floor she could see the woman sitting motionless on the floor. She tried to push open the cubicle door, but it was locked. She tried speaking to the woman, but there was no response. So Johnstone went into the adjoining cubicle, climbed onto the toilet seat and stepped on the sanitary napkin disposal unit. Springing up on her toes, she peered over the other side. The woman was slumped at an angle, her back against the wall and door, the button and zip of her pants undone. Immediately, Johnstone hoisted herself over the wall and into the cubicle where she grabbed hold of the woman and tried unsuccessfully to drag her away from the door.

Vindicated: Farah Jama reads from the 2010 report by Frank Vincent, QC, into his case. Photo: AAP

"I need to get someone out of the toilets," Johnstone yelled to a guard outside. A female patron arrived and also climbed over the wall. The two grasped the woman firmly under the arm and managed to slide her across the floor, away from the door so that it could be opened. Johnstone called out to three security guards who had been waiting outside the toilets. They rushed in and hauled the woman up, one on either side holding under her armpits, the third grabbing each ankle. Johnstone picked up the woman's handbag and followed.

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The men lumbered down past the DJ booth and along the dance floor, backtracking and shifting course to avoid bumping into patrons. They carried the unconscious woman up three lots of stairs to the band room in the backstage area. At one point, the guard holding the woman's feet lost his grip and a heel thumped to the floor. The band room, its carpet criss-crossed with silvery duct tape to hold down electrical cords, was virtually the only part of the club that offered some calm and privacy. The guards laid the woman down on her side. By this time, her pants had slipped down to her hips.

Johnstone sent another employee to ring for an ambulance. The woman was regaining consciousness. Johnstone gave her some water. The woman murmured, over and over, "I'm sorry."

Justice is served: Jama and his appeal lawyer, Kimani Boden, on the steps outside court after Jama's 2009 acquittal. Photo: AAP

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Wrongfully accused