Stuff
August 28 2004

Nicholas accepts police rape inquiry delay
NZPA

The woman whose rape allegation sparked the Commission of Inquiry into police conduct accepts the need to delay the commission's investigation.

The hearing into the way police handled complaints of sexual abuse by officers over the past 25 years had been expected to take three months.

But yesterday it was announced it would not restart until October 22 and may not begin hearing evidence until after any criminal proceedings had finished, which could take years.

The commission was established after Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas alleged in January that she was pack-raped and violated with a police baton by three police officers in 1986 when she was 18. The men vigorously deny the allegations.

After yesterday's announcement, Mrs Nicholas said she had been hoping the matter would have been "all over and done with" this year.

"But it's not going to be, and I appreciate the fact that it's a big investigation by the police and it's going to take a while," she told National Radio.

"Unfortunately, by the sounds of it, it means the commission just has to hold off for a while."

In a statement yesterday commissioners Justice Robertson and Dame Margaret Bazley, said the hearing should be deferred until it was known whether police officers would be charged.

The commission adjourned last month after hearing submissions on whether it should hear evidence in public and if suppression orders could be made.

The commissioners said yesterday media would be allowed to cover the hearings, but some names would be suppressed to avoid affecting any criminal cases.