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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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NZ Herald
An Identikit of the attacker An attractive and popular Bay of
Islands walking track from which an English woman tourist was dragged and
sexually assaulted is usually well frequented by visitors. "It would be normal to run
into other people on the track every 10 or 15 minutes," said Waitangi
National Trust spokesman Michael Hooper. The 27-year-old victim of last
Wednesday's attack has told police she was accosted while walking on the
partly closed track between the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and the Haruru Falls
carpark. She says she was dragged from the
track and seriously sexually assaulted by an athletically built European man
in his mid- to late-30s who spoke with a North American accent. A 10-strong police team has been
working on the inquiry but Detective Sergeant Rhys Johnston of Kaikohe says
there are no specific leads. The track on which the assault
occurred is about 5km long and runs from across the road from the Treaty
Grounds to the Haruru Falls carpark. Mr Hooper said it was an
attractive, varied and easy walk, although a section of the track had been
washed out by storms last July. Signs are in place and the walk is being
progressively reopened as repair work continues, although it is possible for
walkers to climb through the washed-out section. Part of the track runs parallel to
the Waitangi Golf Course and also winds through mangrove and bush areas. Mr Johnston said the victim had
entered the track from the Waitangi Treaty Grounds end. She had climbed
through the slip area before being attacked between 5.30pm and 6pm and pulled
from the track about 1.5km from the Haruru Falls end. He said the bruised and
traumatised woman, who is on a working holiday in New Zealand, had been
helped by Mid North Victim Support and was now "with people she
knows". She received medical treatment after the assault. Her attacker is said to have dark
brown hair, blue eyes and a large ring on his right hand. He was wearing blue
jeans, a navy blue T-shirt with a white pattern on the front and was carrying
what appeared to be a full backpack. Police want to hear from anyone
who walked the track between the Treaty Grounds and the Falls on Wednesday
afternoon or evening. They should call Paihia police on (09) 402 6102. * A Dutch couple honeymooning in
New Zealand were accosted and kidnapped in their campervan near the Haruru
Falls carpark by two Northland men in November 2006. Keith McEwen, 30, and Christopher
Mana Manuel, 27, forced their way into the couple's campervan before the
victims were tied up, driven around central Northland and forced to withdraw
money from an ATM machine. Both men received lengthy jail
terms when they were sentenced in the High Court at Whangarei last year. |
