By Joanna Thantu, Staff Writer.
A judge has thrown out an assault charge against an Invercargill man, calling his ex-wife’s allegations “implausible” amid a bitter divorce battle.
Glenn Johnathon Coburn, 52, was in the Invercargill District Court today, defending claims he assaulted Marie Dorothy Coburn at the Oreti Beach carpark on January 8, 2024. He also faced a charge for emailing her a month later, in breach of a protection order.
Beachside Confrontation
The couple’s 30-year marriage had ended three months earlier. Ms Coburn told the court she left her Otatara home that night to go for a walk on the beach—coincidentally ending up at her ex-husband’s caravan.
Defence lawyer Bill Dawkins pressed her on that.
“Are you saying it was a coincidence you came across [the defendant]?” he asked.
“One hundred percent,” she replied.
She admitted that after spotting his caravan, she approached it to confront him about their ongoing property dispute. She recorded the encounter on her phone.
In the recording, played in court, the pair could be heard arguing. At one point, Ms Coburn accused Mr Coburn of grabbing her phone and running back inside the caravan.
“What are you grabbing my phone for?” Mr Coburn could be heard saying, mimicking her voice in a high pitch.
Moments later, she shouted “rape,” claiming in court that he had yanked her into the caravan and shut the door. She said he held her inside for 15 minutes before roughly pushing her out, aggravating an old ankle injury.
After the alleged scuffle, Mr Coburn was heard on the recording saying:
“Why can’t we make love one more time? Why not now?”
Judge Questions Complainant’s Version of Events
Mr Dawkins challenged Ms Coburn’s claim that she had been out for a walk at 10 p.m., noting that the sun had set at 9:49 p.m.
“It wasn’t dark,” she insisted.
Judge Russell Walker wasn’t convinced, saying the idea that she went to Oreti Beach for a late-night walk “planted the first seed of reasonable doubt.”
He also pointed out that Ms Coburn had omitted key details in her two police interviews—namely, that she had first circled the caravan, disconnected its gas, and scrawled “druggie” on his car window before the confrontation.
The judge found it significant that she had also left out the attempted rape allegation from her police statements.
“Ms Coburn was, at best, selective with what she did or didn’t tell police,” he said.
Under cross-examination, she admitted she hadn’t wanted to report rape because she knew it would be difficult to go through in court.
“I didn’t leave it out,” she insisted. “I told the police—I just said I did not want him charged with it.”
Email Breach ‘Likely a Mistake’
The second charge—breaching a protection order by emailing Ms Coburn in February 2024—was also dismissed.
The judge found it “reasonably probable” that the email was sent in error, given that Coburn has dyslexia and other communication difficulties. The email contained no message, only an attached invoice from his lawyer and his father’s email address in the subject line.
With both charges dismissed, Coburn broke down in tears.
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