EXCLUSIVE

THERE was a time Mack Lindon feared people learning he had spent almost two years in prison for the drink-spiking and rape of a 21-year-old woman.

Not anymore. Now the Rainbow Bay man is making a feature film based on his experience.

Lindon was sentenced to six years' behind bars in 2008 when a court found him guilty of spiking the drink of a woman he met at a Melbourne bar and later raping her at her unit. Having pleaded not guilty, he was sent to a maximum-security prison.

The only problem was he was innocent.

In mid-2011, more than five years after a boozy night resulted in his life being torn apart, a Supreme Court of Victoria judge overturned his conviction on appeal after throwing out the prosecution's case after just one week of a retrial.

media_camera Renowned actor Martin Sacks, left, has a leading role in feature film Rise, based on the true story of writer/director Mack Lindon's wrongful imprisonment for rape.

As writer, producer and director, the 35-year-old is now using his nightmare as the inspiration for his debut feature, Rise, which stars acclaimed actor Martin Sacks and has finished shooting on the Gold Coast.

"I'm finally letting go and not fearing ramifications," he said.

"The stigma of that charge is terrible … there are times you can tell people are judging you, but that's just something you have to learn to live with. What people think of me isn't my business.

"The truth is we went back to her place and had sex, but the truth also is it was consensual ... when you get to the point where you know you're innocent and can sleep peacefully at night, you've going nothing to hide."

Emma Lindon, who met and married her husband while he was awaiting his retrial, said she never doubted his innocence.

"He might have been a bit of a lad but he wasn't a rapist," she said.

"I could just see through that story as to who he really was as a person … if anything it made me more attracted to his character. He had only been out of jail three months when we met and he wasn't bitter or negative.

"He didn't have a vendetta against the young lady involved. He just wanted to turn his life around and that's where the film focuses."

media_camera Mack Lindon is making a film about his wrongful jailing. Pic: Stuart Quinn.

While Rise centres on a man wrongfully imprisoned for drink-spiking and rape, Lindon and his wife, partners in Vision Films Australia, stress it is not an attack on his accuser.

"I'm powerless as to how she will respond but I'm hoping she sees it's not about her," said Lindon, who was denied compensation for his wrongful imprisonment.

"It's not about revenge. It's not about false accusations. Her character barely features in the film … the film's themes are forgiveness and transformation, grabbing hope in hopeless situations."

Emma added: "It's about all the positives that have come out of this and showing people that no matter what you're going through there's always light at the end of the tunnel.

"It's not a finger-pointing opportunity at women who have cried rape. All rape victims aren't liars. I've had three girlfriends who have been sexually assaulted so Mack and I feel very strongly about this."

While Rise's storyline will come as no surprise to Lindon's close family and friends, it will one day make interesting viewing for his toddler daughter.

"She'll grow up to learn about the broader components of life and when she's ready I'll tell her," he said. "There's nothing to hide."

Lindon, whose registration as a nurse was cancelled after his arrest, was offered the chance to plead guilty for a more lenient sentence but refused.

Having previously acted in a minor role on Home & Away, his sentencing drew media attention and he then spent 19 months in prison, 10 of them in maximum security, before being released on bail to await retrial.

Two years later his ordeal was finally over.

"In that drunken stupor in the wee hours of the morning we both agreed to have sex … and I think it snowballed for her," Lindon said.

"There were other factors in her life and it was a little lie that got bigger and bigger.

"I've forgiven her. I've moved on. I wrote her a letter when I was in jail to say 'I've let it go' … I wanted her to be at peace and that's true forgiveness."

Pending a distributor deal, Lindon hopes Rise will be in cinemas in late 2014.