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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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False allegations of rape had to
be taken seriously because of the damage they did to the credibility of real
victims, Judge Tony Couch told a 31-year-old mother in Christchurch District
Court today. False complaints must be a matter
of general public concern, he said at the sentencing after she entered a
guilty plea. "The resources of the police
are limited and it is very much in the interests of society that it should be
focused on real crimes as opposed to imagined or false allegations,"
Judge Couch said. "It is difficult for many
women to find the courage to make complaints of real crimes against them.
That is often because their credibility is questioned. "A false allegation of such
an offence serves only to undermine the credibility of every woman who has
genuinely been offended against." Defence counsel Richard Maguire
sought a discharge without conviction for the woman, who also has a case
before the Family Court. He said the complaint had been
checked and found to be false within about an hour of her making it at the
Papanui police station, and the man said to be involved had not been
interviewed or accused by the police. Judge Couch said the woman had had
a troubled life with traumatic events in her childhood, a restrictive and
unusual upbringing, and a limited education. A psychiatric report had been prepared
for the sentencing. He did not think an immediate
penal sentence was called for and convicted the woman and ordered her to come
up for sentence if called upon within the next year. |
