Lawyers for a Christchurch man acquitted of raping and murdering his niece have told the Supreme Court that the verdict was safe and that no miscarriage of justice occurred.
The Crown has asked the court to overturn the verdict, claiming that a statement introduced into evidence at a late stage caused a miscarriage of justice to occur.
The Court of Appeal last year upheld the acquittal of George Gwaze, but the Crown wants that decision overturned.
During the trial the Crown said Mr Gwaze sexually assaulted and suffocated his niece, 10-year-old Charlene Makaza.
The defence asserted, however, that she died of natural causes as a result of HIV, and late in the trial a statement was produced from a paediatrician who said the child's injuries were similar to those he'd seen in South African children who'd died of AIDS.
Primary defence: someone else was in the room
Mr Gwaze's lawyer said the statement wasn't the only evidence relied on by the defence. He said the primary defence was that another person was asleep in the same room as the girl and it was inconceivable Mr Gwaze could commit such offending with other people nearby.
As for the crown's claim that Mr Gwaze's semen was found in Charlene's underwear, the defence says it probably got there when her underwear was handwashed.
Earlier, Solicitor-General David Collins told the court there were many inconsistencies in the use of the paediatrician's statement.
He said the paediatrician had wanted to consider all the medical material before the court before expressing any opinion on the child's death.
The court reserved its decision.
