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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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Hamilton police are
becoming increasingly frustrated with false sex complaints which make up a
quarter of sex offences they investigate. Last year, 147 sex offences were
reported to Hamilton police. More than one quarter (41) were
found to be false. In the greater Waikato, police dealt
with 297 sex offences last year and 77 proved groundless. The high number of
false accusations also create difficulties for genuine victims.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Whitehead of Hamilton CIB said police tended
to delve more closely into sex complaints they receive, giving the impression
of over-vigorous investigating. "Because so many sex
offence complaints are shown to be false, we are obliged to look extremely
carefully at every complaint we receive. In that process, extra
trauma can be created for genuine victims." Mr Whitehead said. The nature and
complexity of sex allegations meant police put huge resources into those
investigations. "Irrespective of other commitments, we will
always push resources into these types of offences. As a
consequence, other things will be put to one side." One investigation into
a sexual violation last year took nine police 42 hours to prove it was
untrue. The investigation cost the taxpayer $7,417. The
costs included salaries, doctors fees and forensic testing. "It's not a case
of disbelieving the complainant. We have to prove it is false." Police rarely prosecute
people who have made false complains about sex crimes. Mr
Whitehead says police will focus on the reason for the false
complaints. "Invariably, we will find there are other
issues behind most false complaints. We try to have those issues addressed." Reasons given to police
in the past for making false sex complaints range from young girls who need
to explain a pregnancy, failed relationships where a complainant is seeking
sympathy or out of spite. Detective Sergeant Ross
Ardern of North Hamilton police says his staff come across a lot of social
and psychological problems in their investigations. One young girl who last
year concocted an elaborate story about being sexually attacked was suffering
stress. "Many young girls get caught in the trap of wanting
attention." Rape Crisis national
spokesperson, Claire Benson, said while she disputed police statistics, there
were many reasons for false sexual allegations. Rape Crisis was looking
forward to a new adult sexual assault policy, that will next year require a
support person to accompany victims during police interviews. The maximum penalty for
a false complaint is three months' jail or a $1,000 fine. Accompanying
Report: Waikato Times Last December, a 15
year old Te Kowhai girl told Hamilton police she had been bashed and sexually
assaulted by an intruder who came into her house armed with a length of wood. She described her
attacker in detail, emphasising a dog-collar tattoo around his
neck. Police even issued an identikit picture of the man; a
man who never existed. On the first day of the
inquiry, 13 police were assigned to the case. Two weeks and
235 investigating hours later, the girl's accusation proved to be
false. The case cost police $18,800. Officer in charge,
Detective Sergeant Peter Van de Wetering, said the girl was
convincing. It took several hours to extract the full details
of her complaint, but that is not uncommon in sexual offence investigations. By the second day of
the investigation, flaws started to appear in the girl's story and detectives
began to fear the complaint was false. By the fourth day, other issues began
to raise their concerns. The girl was referred
to police youth aid, where she undertook to apologise to police.
She has since expressed her remorse and gave police a parcel of fruit. Mr Van de Wetering syas
her parents were distraught and keen to resolve the girl's problems which led
her to lie to police. "We're not in a position to
expect anything more. We just hope she's learned her
lesson." |
