NZ Herald
August 9 2004

Ex-officer on sex charges given name suppression
NZPA

A former police officer has appeared in the Whangarei District Court charged with rape and other sex offences that are alleged to have happened more than a decade ago.

The man, who was granted name suppression, is facing seven indictable charges, all relating to the same woman, including four alleging rape.

The man is charged with four counts of raping the woman on the same day more than a decade ago, three counts of sexually violating her by unlawful sexual connection, and one count of assault.

Justices of the peace Faye Colthurst and Stuart McLaggan granted the man name suppression and remanded him on bail to reappear in the Auckland District Court in October for a pre-depositions hearing. The man was excused from appearing in the court that day.

The man's lawyer, Peter Kaye, said interim name suppression should be granted only until the next appearance to allow him to tell family and friends of the charges.

The man now lives overseas.

Crown prosecutor Glen Marshall agreed with the application for name suppression.

"We recognise that at this stage in the proceedings it's in the interest of justice that this interim name suppression is in place," he said.

Police Commissioner Rob Robinson would not comment on the case as the matter was before the court.