Allegations of Abuse in NZ
	peterellis Home / abuse allegations / Tea Ropati / Tea Ropati - League Star accused of rape - Not Guilty - …..”a case that should never have gone to trial” - Lawyer Page 3 <<< Page 4 - Reaction - Lawyer criticises police >>> Page 5
	This page last updated July 11 2008 31 Jan - 1 Feb 2008 - Lawyer criticises the police Gary Gotlieb hits out at the police 1. Why the case should not have come to trial Gary Gotlieb said the case related to a law change made in 1995, which allows a person to be prosecuted if the person who has had sex cannot genuinely consent because of alcohol or something of that sort. However that came in because of concerns about date rape, where someone is taking advantage of someone. In this case, the woman plied herself with her own drinks, gave herself her own cocaine, for six hours before he came on the scene, and the evidence clearly showed that all of her friends bar one thought she was all right because she could function quite well. 2. The police are too scared to make a decision “I’ve been in the law 40 years and having done my first rape trial six months into practice. We’ve become so PC. Too scared to make a decision. The police too afraid to be ballsy and say this is a bloody nonsense. And we just go ahead with things and say the answer is “Leave it to the Court” Well we’ve gone crazy in my opinion 3. The investigation process: “A bloody nonsense” “Could I just say something about the statement [from the complainant] The statement was first made 14 hours after the event. There wasn’t enough to prosecute him. So five weeks later another statement is obtained. She having spoken to all her friends what they could remember Having spoken to the police, and then having eleven days after the event made an ACC sensitive claims application dealt at least two sessions with her psychotherapist. Then she was able to make a statement five weeks later after the event, with this sort of recovered recall. What a bloody nonsense,. 4. A new adult sexual assault team was out to prove themselves There’s an element of the case being pursued because the accused was a celebrity. The Auckland City District Police had decided to form an adult sexual assault team and [the police] came in and go wammo, we’re going to prove ourselves, 5. The CCTV footage I looked at the CCTV footage and I was absolutely gobsmacked that they proceeded. I could not believe they had done so. And I can tell you I’ve been in the game for nearly 40 years and I can tell you I’m absolutely shocked they proceeded 6. The police played hard ball “The 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.’’ Gotlieb says it is unfair his client does not have the same suppression orders protecting his identity as the woman who accused him. He says public trials in sex cases are not good for anyone and there has to be a better way. The (existing) law favours the alleged victim. 7. The law 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.’’ Response to criticism from Detective Snr Sgt Scott Beard 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. We had the CCTV footage. We have what she says from what she can recall and remember. What her friends said and what they recalled. The statement from Mr Ropati and then the medical evidence. And then on the basis of that a decision was made to prosecute. It never got thrown out of court. It went to a jury and a jury made the decision. The police are not judge and jury and it’s proper for a jury and the court to determine innocence or guilt I just want to reassure the public, You know, the New Zealand police. We take rape complaints seriously. We’ll investigate them to our fullest, whether alcohol is involved and if a woman is intoxicated they shouldn’t be preyed upon ot taken advantage of and if they do take a complaint to the police we’ll investigate it. If there is sufficient evidence to put it before the court then we’ll do that Response to criticism from NZ Herald Editorial Mr Gotlieb's bottom line was that his client should not have been prosecuted. It is not a view that stands up to scrutiny. Nor, indeed, do any of his other claims. The police, themselves, acknowledge that, in the wake of the Louise Nicholas trials, there is much attention on their handling of rape allegations. This creates the danger that, as a precautionary measure, they will seek to have all such allegations examined by the courts. At the very worst, extreme sensitivity could lead to cases based on the flimsiest of evidence being advanced. There is nothing, however, to suggest that was so in this example 2008-0131 - 19:00 - TV1 Close up - Rape case debate 2008-0201 - Otago Daily Times - Ropati’s lawyer questions arrest 2008-0201 - NZ Herald - Ropati lawyer hits at police 2008-0201 - NZ Herald - Ropati glad court ordeals are over 2008-0201 - Newstalk ZB - Lawyer wants more rights for accused 2008-0201 - Radio NZ - Police defend handling of Tea Ropati case 2008-0202 - NZ Herald - Lawyer's criticisms unfair NZ Herald Readers respond to issues NZ Herald readers respond to the question” “Do you think the police are biased against men?”, with a range of opinions. 2008-0201 - NZ Herald - Do you think the police are biased against men? Other views are covered in letters to the editor. 2008-0202 - NZ Herald - Celebrity status two-edged