They had lunch together, including drinks, over the course of approximately three hours, after which the two went to Pappajohn's house where they engaged in sexual intercourse.

After the event the woman was seen running out of the house naked, wearing a bow-tie, with her hands bound, and was in great distress.

On the facts, he found that there was no evidence, other than the statement of the accused, that if believed, would have allowed for the possibility of consent.

He stated that the defence was derived from the mens rea requirement, which is a subjective standard, and consequently the mistaken belief did not need to be reasonable.

The federal government later amended the criminal offence to require that the jury should "consider the presence or absence of reasonable grounds for that belief."