Zachary Rolfe's mum was a character witness for Ben Roberts-Smith

Deborah Rolfe attested to the good character of the disgraced veteran, who lost his defamation action in relation to allegations of war crimes against three newspapers last week.

A blonde woman in a red floral dress leaves a court.

Zachary Rolfe's mother Deborah Rolfe departs the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, in Darwin, Monday, February 28, 2022. Constable Zachary Rolfe fatally shot Kumanjayi Walker during an outback arrest in November 2019. Source: AAP / AARON BUNCH/AAPIMAGE

The mother of was a character witness for Ben Roberts-Smith in his defamation case.

Deborah Rolfe AM, mother of former constable Zachary Rolfe, was one of four people who gave statements vouching for Mr Roberts-Smith's good character in his treatment of women.
In the 736-page judgment dismissing Mr Roberts-Smith's case against three media outlets, Justice Anthony Besanko says Ms Rolfe met Mr Roberts-Smith in 2011 and became a close friend of his then wife Emma.

Ms Rolfe, a partner in a Canberra law firm, described the domestic violence allegation against Mr Roberts-Smith as "outrageous and that he is not the kind of person to hit a woman.

"He has never lost control of his emotions and always treated women with absolute respect," she said in her statement.

Justice Besanko did not accept the evidence of Mr Roberts-Smith's mistress that he punched her head in a Canberra hotel in 2018 to be reliable enough to find the assault occurred.

The judge also took into account the evidence of the character witnesses to find reports of the domestic violence allegations defamatory but not enough to harm Mr Roberts-Smith's reputation further after finding numerous war crimes allegations against him substantially true.

NT Police . A jury last year found him not guilty of murdering 19-year-old Mr Walker who he shot three times in the remote community of Yuendumu in November 2019.
If this story has raised issues for you, you can call 13 YARN (13 92 76) 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 13 11 14 or Open Arms 1800 011 046.

Share
Published 6 June 2023 10:58am
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Featured Live Channels

Subscribe to the NITV Newsletter

Receive the latest Indigenous news, sport, entertainment and more in your email inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
Interviews and feature reports from NITV.
A mob-made podcast about all things Blak life.
Get the latest with our nitv podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on NITV
The Point: Referendum Road Trip

The Point: Referendum Road Trip

Live weekly on Tuesday at 7.30pm
Join Narelda Jacobs and John Paul Janke to get unique Indigenous perspectives and cutting-edge analysis on the road to the referendum.
#ThePoint