NZ Herald
March 18, 2000

Review of rape case overly slow, says accused's sister
NZPA


Wellington - The sister of two men jailed with another in 1996 for the rape and sodomy of a woman is frustrated that a Ministry of Justice report on their case is still pending, despite evidence produced over a year ago that the accusations could be false.

The men are Jason Dale, now 26, sentenced in the High Court at Dunedin to eight years' jail, on top of a three-year sentence for aggravated burglary, and his brother Paul, 29, who with their friend Callum McLeod, 23, was given an 8 1/2-year term.

The rape victim, with her husband, later made similar complaints against two other men, from Upper Hutt, but they were able to provide video evidence that her allegations against them were false.

All the men have consistently claimed that sex took place, but it was consensual.

The woman had also signed a confession in front of a justice of the peace saying that she had had strong fantasies involving rape and that she had made up both cases of rape. She has since retracted the confession, saying it was forced out of her.

Early last year, Queen's counsel Judith Ablett-Kerr made an application for the royal prerogative of mercy for the jailed men.

The application, which could result in a pardon, went to then Justice Minister, Tony Ryall, who passed it to ministry advisers.

In a letter last March to the Dales' sister, Amanda, the ministry said it was "working to advance the matter as quickly as possible."

Yesterday, ministry spokeswoman Penny Gaynor said a report should be available by the end of May.

Replying to Amanda Dale's concerns, Justice Minister Phil Goff said it was critically important that the job be done thoroughly.

The woman accused the bisexual Upper Hutt men of drugging her and her husband before raping and sodomising them. She also told police that there had been no previous contact between the four.

However, one of the men had kept a videotape that showed there had been a history of consensual sex between them all.

The same man said he had the woman on tape confessing the Dale brothers' innocence, and that tape had been passed to the authorities.

Upper Hutt Detective Sergeant Richard Boyscheer confirmed key parts of the Upper Hutt events.

"The victim had alleged that there was no previous contact. We found video footage between [the man's partner] and the complainant and her husband."

Upper Hutt JP Pat Crowley, who witnessed the woman's initial retraction, has disputed that she did so under force. He said that when she signed it she had been relaxed and chatty and displayed no signs of coercion.