All Charges in Spousal Rape Case Dismissed

SANTA ANA â€”  Charges were dismissed Friday against an Australian man accused of spousal rape in a case that made headlines here and in Australia because his wife surreptitiously taped the alleged crime.

An Orange County Superior Court jury deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting David Steber, 43, accused of raping his then-wife, Robin Steber, 29, while visiting Orange County in August during a trip to bring his two young children back to Australia.

Judge Frank F. Fasel then dismissed all charges against Steber after the jury’s decision, reached after they deliberated for about six hours over two days.

David Steber’s attorney, Ronald Brower, said the action carries the same weight as an acquittal.

“I’m elated,� Steber said, his eyes tearing after meeting with some of the jurors in a courthouse hallway. “I’m glad this whole evil mess is over with. My plan is as soon as I can to return home to be with my family and especially my children.�

Robin Steber returned to Australia before the jury finished deliberating.

It was the first time that the district attorney’s office has filed a felony spousal rape case using an audiotape as evidence. The charge itself is rare--only seven felony arrests for spousal rape were filed in Orange County in 1996.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Patti Sanchez left the courtroom after Fasel dismissed the charges and couldn’t be reached later for comment.

Several jurors said that during deliberations they listened to the tape--which contained her screams and protests--and argued over whether a rape occurred. But in the end, they decided there were too many inconsistencies in her story.

Robin Steber accused her ex-husband of raping her the night before the Stebers were to appear in Orange County Superior Court, where a judge was expected to order the children returned to Australia with their father.

“It stinks,� juror Mary Phipps of Santa Ana said.

Jury foreman Tom Knego, a civil attorney, said he was the holdout for conviction.

“He had unlawful sexual intercourse with another person against her will,� Knego, of Foothill Ranch, said. “The others felt there were ambiguities.�

In closing arguments, Sanchez painted Steber as a spurned husband who forced himself on his wife during a visit to her Santa Ana apartment. Robin Steber testified that she hid the tape recorder under a bedroom bureau because she wanted to record discussions about child support.

But Brower said Robin Steber knew David Steber wanted to rebuild their marriage and set him up for what happened in the bedroom because of a custody dispute.

The couple’s son, 6, and daughter, 3, were born in Australia and returned there with Robin Steber while David Steber awaited trial. Robin Steber testified that she wanted the children to stay in the United States and sought to have custody decisions made here.

Brower said the case should never have been prosecuted. He said the district attorney’s office told the Orange County Sheriff’s Department crime lab to drop DNA testing of physical evidence because of the tape recording.

“If you’re going to send a man to prison for eight years, you absolutely should be certain he did it,� Brower said.

During his closing arguments, Brower pointed to a 20-minute blank spot on the beginning of the tape. Robin Steber testified that the gap was made after she mistakenly pressed the fast-forward button for several seconds before beginning the recording. But both sides agreed it would have taken nearly two minutes for the tape to have been advanced that far.

A Santa Ana police officer testified he considered arresting Robin Steber for conspiring in advance to tape the conversation, which is illegal unless all parties consent.