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Allegations
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peterellis Home / abuse allegations / Peter Stewart page 1 Peter Stewart -Trial & Naming >> page 2 |
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This page last updated December2
2008
2007-1219 - The Press - 'Prominent' man convicted of rape named 2007-1219 - The Press - Who is Peter Maxwell Stewart? 2007-1219 - Three News - 'Prominent businessman'
sex offender named 2007-1219 - Radio NZ - Name suppression bid
dropped
2007-1217 - The Press - Why hide identity? 2007-1218 - The Press - Delay for sex penalty
Her story: The accused had
persuaded her to masturbate him and perform oral sex on him from when she was
eight years old. "It was fun," She was young and didn't know any
better. By the time she was 13, the indecencies had progressed to
intercourse, the first act occurring on a picnic table while she was dressed
in her school uniform. Over the years the sex continued, the accused taking
opportunities where he could.. She never fought, struggled or cried because
he was a father figure. The offending stopped when she started going out with
other men. Witnesses gave evidence of what
the complainant had told them about her sex life 30 to 35 years ago, when she
was still a schoolgirl. The complainant regaled them with accounts of her
sexual escapades with the accused. Several spoke of the complainant's
infatuation with the accused, His story: He had one act of
sexual intercourse with the complainant that occurred when she was 17. The
complainant was infatuated with him and possessed an over-active imagination;
she had fabricated a fantasy sex life with him and found she got rapt
attention from her school buddies. The fantasies were then repackaged in
adulthood to pressure the accused into financing a lifestyle that she had
failed to achieve with her own efforts. The allegations were "fuelled by envy and motivated by
money" 2007-1208 - The Press - Guilty man's identity hidden 2007-1208 - The Press - A girl's sex fantasies or an adult exploiting her -
the jury's choice
2007-1207 - The Press - Canty man found guilty on sex charges 2007-1207 - Three News - Prominent Canterbury man
found guilty of sex charges 2007-1207 - One News - Man guilty of historic sex charges 2007-1207 - NZ Herald - Prominent Canterbury man
guilty of historic sex charges
The defence argued the complainant
had fantasised about a sexual relationship with the accused and had dredged
up the fantasy four years ago to try to extract a house from the accused, the
judge said. According to the defence,
her evidence was "hopeless", so short of detail and context as to
be dangerous The Crown maintained the complainant
had essentially told the truth, although accepted detail was deficient and
inconsistent. The Crown argued that accounts from four witnesses, to whom the
complainant, then still a schoolgirl, had talked of sexual activity with the
accused, were confirmatory of the allegations. Two of the witnesses had
spoken of inappropriate activity by the accused towards them and this could
be viewed as the accused having a propensity to act in that way to girls of
this age. 2007-1207 - The Press - High Court jury considers historical sex charges 2007-1207 - The Nelson Mail - Sex charges pondered
Defence counsel Jonathan
Eaton suggested that the case was "Fuelled
by fantasy, ignited by envy, motivated by money” He said that as a young schoolgirl, the
complainant found she could always get a reaction by chattering about her
fantasy of having sexual activity with the accused. Then in 2004 she was down
on her luck and, envious of the accused's wife, the fantasy was repackaged as
rape and paedophilia and "boy does that get a reaction". As she
faced consistent denials from his client, she counterpunched with more
allegations to put more pressure on his client and to bolster her push for
money. Eaton said the jury would have
to feel very uncomfortable about the reliability of the complainant's
testimony, which was riddled with inconsistencies and outrageous allegations Crown counsel Philip Shamy said she had
gained nothing from making the allegations other than four days in the
witness box having her life raked over. If she was making false accusations
she could not have picked worse locations for her fabrications and she would
have made sure "to get it right" rather than give her sometimes
inconsistent accounts. 2007-1206 - The Press - Sex charges
Opening the defence case lawyer Jonathan
Eaton said the complainant's allegations were "quite
bizarre" and "inherently unlikely". She had been hopelessly
inconsistent and seemed to think all she needed to do was allege sex happened
and the rest did not matter, he said. Where records existed, they tended to
show the complainant's memories were unreliable. His client had a close
relationship with the complainant and she had a bit of a crush on him. When
she was 16 or 17, one act of consensual intercourse had occurred, and it was
probably the worst mistake of his client's life. The defendant took the stand denying
that any of the events that resulted in charges had occurred.
"Absolutely not," he said, when the events were put to him. On at
least three occasions, the complainant had connected alleged incidents of
sexual abuse with vehicles that he did not own at the time He admitted admits having sex with
the complainant on one occasion when she was 17. "She was horsing around
and she had on a brief white bikini," "She had a crush on me and
she made overtures to me and at that point I made the biggest mistake of my
life and we had sex” The complainant later made the
allegations against him, and asked for a house, and school fees for her son
as compensation 2007-1204 - The Press - Charges in sex-abuse case altered 2007-1205 - The Press - sex with teen ‘bad news’ for businessman
Leigh Steele, a school friend of
the complainant told of the complainant talking about sexual episodes with
the accused. “I believe she was infatuated” she said. 2007-1201 - The Press - Second woman testifies in abuse trial 2007-1204 - The Press - Charges in sex-abuse case altered
Defence lawyer placed before the
jury correspondence from 2004 and 2005 asking for compensation. She said she
withdrew, because of allegations that she was only doing it because she
wanted a house and money. She denied the accused man's claim
that they had had sex only once at a named location when she was 16 or 17, at
a time when she was infatuated with him and had initiated the contact. 2007-1127 - Newstalk ZB - Father figure on abuse
charges 2007-1201 - The Press - Second woman testifies in abuse trial
Prosecutor Philip Shamy said the
abuse started when the complainant was about 7. Indecent assaults progressed
to rape when the complainant was about 13. Years after the abuse ended, the
accused visited the woman at her Christchurch workplace in 2003 and suggested
they have sex in the back of the shop, which was “the catalyst” to make the
complaint. Defence Lawyer Jonathan
Eaton said the accused “clearly and simply'' denied any sexual
offending involving the woman “all those years ago''. “What she says
[happened] could not have and did not occur.'' However, Mr Eaton said his
client admitted having consensual sexual intercourse “on one single
occasion'' when the woman was “of age'' - about 16 or 17. He said the
complainant's credibility was at issue. 2007-1126 - Newstalk ZB - Man on trial on
historical sex abuse charges 2007-1127 - NZ Herald - Visit from accused leads to sex charges
2007-0306 - Otago Daily Times - For trial on sex charges
Little can be published as a
result of extensive suppression rules, including the man’s name. At the depositions hearing the
court heard evidence from four Crown witnesses and two others provided
written evidence. The witnesses were childhood friends of the accuser who
were asked about their recollections at the time. Two girlfriends had the
impression the complainant was in love or infatuated with the defendant. 2007-0129 - Stuff - Historic child sex allegations at hearing 2007-0129 - Radio NZ - Extensive suppressions
cover prominent man's case 2007-0129 - Radio NZ - Prominent Canterbury man
accused of sex charges 2007-0129 - Radio NZ - Childhood friend testifies 2007-0130 - The Press - 'Prominent' man accused of rape 2007-0130 - NZ Herald - Wide suppression in
child-abuse case 2007-0130 - Waikato Times - Historic child sex
charges 2007-0204 - National Business Review - High profile name in court on sex
charges
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