|
Allegations of Abuse
in NZ |
||
|
Tea Ropati - League Star accused
of rape |
||
|
Otago Daily Times AUCKLAND: The police adult sexual abuse
unit that arrested former league star Tea Ropati was out to make a name for
itself, Ropati’s lawyer claimed last night. Barrister Gary Gotlieb said the
unit was formed just one week before Ropati was alleged to have sexually violated
a woman he met in a Ponsonby Rd bar in June 2006. An Auckland jury yesterday
acquitted the former Warrior and Kiwis league star of six sex charges, at the
end of a sevenday hearing. Last night, Mr Gotlieb said police
were looking to prove themselves. ‘‘Maybe they were trying to do the
impossible,’’ he said. Detective Senior Sergeant Scott
Beard, appearing alongside Mr Gotlieb on TV1’s Close Up, rejected the
suggestion. ‘‘Not at all. This case had
already been reported to the police prior to that squad being formed,’’ Det
Snr Sgt Beard said. Mr Gotlieb replied: ‘‘And you came
in and go ‘Whammo’ and ‘We’re going to prove ourselves’.’’ Mr Gotlieb said police played
‘‘hardball’’ with Ropati right from the beginning. ‘‘The day we made the statement to
police, we came in voluntarily, and talked about name suppression. They
agreed and then changed the rules and said they wanted his name published . .
. I went off my nut.’’ He said that in the 38 years he
had been working on rape trials he had seen the law go ‘‘so anti-male, it’s
not funny’’. ‘‘We’ve got so bloody PC [politically correct],’’ he said.
During the trial he asked whether men would have to ‘‘take a breathalyser’’
out with them. ‘‘That’s how stupid we’ve got.’’ Police Association President
Greg O’Connor said Mr Gotlieb knew enough about police work to know what he
was claiming was wrong. ‘‘It was mischievous and
muck-raking.’’ Detective Sergeant Beard said the
complaint was made in June 2006 and dealt with initially by the crime squad
on duty that night, then passed on to the investigative squad. He said because police were busy
with homicides about the time of the complaint, they could not give the woman
‘‘the full attention she deserved’’. He said the sexual assault team
was formed in July, following the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct,
and the woman’s case was passed on to them. ‘‘We’d come under scrutiny about
how police dealt with victims of rape.’’ Det Snr Sgt Beard denied that
police were out to prove themselves with a celebrity scalp. He said there was
sufficient evidence to take Ropati to court. ‘‘Sometimes we know who the
defendant is but sometimes you don’t. You don’t know what you’re going to
find. We had to consider the welfare of the victim. It doesn’t matter if she’s
had too much to drink or not. We don’t prosecute every single person. ‘‘We are not the judge or the
jury. The courts accepted the complaint.’’ He said police had received
positive feedback from the Crown and outside agencies about the new squad, which
is continuing to support the victim after the trial. The courtroom erupted at the
not-guilty verdicts as Ropati family members, led by brother Peter, shouted
and hurled abuse at the court system, police and media. ‘‘This should never have happened.
It should never have come to this,’’ he yelled, before being ordered out by
Judge Phil Gittos. But Peter Ropati continued his
tirade outside the courtroom, blasting the prosecution as ‘‘a waste of
money’’, and ‘‘a pile of poop’’. Tea Ropati was more subdued as he
left the court, thanking his family and friends for their support over the
previous months. Mr Gotlieb read a statement from
Ropati outside the court where Ropati said he had ‘‘ongoing’’ issues with
alcohol to address. ‘‘I never doubted that I would be
found innocent of the charges. I have been honest and up front at all times
with everyone concerned, beginning with police on the day I learned of these
allegations against me.’’ He thanked his wife Vanessa, his
children, parents and brothers and sister for standing by him through the
‘‘extraordinarily’’ difficult time. — The New Zealand Herald
Tea Ropati, his wife Vanessa, and
their infant child leave the Auckland District Court where he was found not
guilty on six charges of sexual assault. |
||
