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Allegations
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A former Northland
police officer has been committed for trial accused of handcuffing a woman
and raping her in the Kaitaia police station. Timothy Nicholas Ogle,
45, was a constable when the alleged incident happened in March 1988. At a depositions
hearing in the Auckland District Court yesterday, Judge Fred McElrea lifted
name suppression on Ogle, who is now an investigator in Queensland. Ogle was granted bail
and the case was sent to the High Court at Auckland for trial. The court heard the
alleged victim, now 61, agreed to give Ogle a lift home from the Awanui
Hotel. In a written statement
handed to the court, the woman said that on the way Ogle put his hand under
her leg, but she brushed him off and didn't feel threatened. Her main concern was
that he smelled of vomit and she was worried he was going to be sick in her
car. The woman said that
Ogle said he wanted to stop off at the station to pick up his running gear. He went away but
returned a few minutes later. "The defendant
told me one of the car lights was faulty, and that I could not drive home
like that," the woman said. She said she got out to
check. "The next thing I felt
was a bang on my right wrist. I looked and saw that I had a handcuff around
it." She said Ogle then
handcuffed her other hand as well. The woman said Ogle
agreed to remove the cuffs but said the keys were in the office. "In the office he
kissed me with an open mouth. He smelled of alcohol and vomit. "I didn't fight
him because I was quite intimidated by him and because I was
handcuffed." She said she protested
that she wanted to go home but Ogle told her she could go once he
"screwed" her. He then allegedly raped
her and committed other indecencies. She hit him with her
handcuffed hands, though she said she thought it would only make him mad. The woman said she
tried to leave evidence of what happened. "While the
defendant was putting on his trousers, I pulled out a few strands of my hair
and put them on the carpet." She also put her
fingerprints under the edge of a desk in an effort to leave evidence. Ogle threatened to
"do" her if she told anyone. "I can get you in all sorts of
ways," he allegedly said. She reported the
incident to the police and was visited later by Sergeant Colin Yates. "I told him what
happened and about the fingerprints. "He didn't take
any statement or make any notes and I didn't sign anything," she said. Ogle was charged last
year. He told police: "I am totally innocent." The woman's partner at
the time said in a statement: "I recall [the complainant] saying 'if you
can't be safe with a policeman, who can you be safe with'. " The former partner, who
worked at the hotel, told the judge: "She asked me if I thought it was
okay [to give Ogle a lift] and I didn't think it would be much of a
problem." He told Ogle's lawyer,
Gary Gotlieb, that when he saw her later in Ahipara she said: "It was a
great mate you sent me home with", or words to that effect. He told Mr Gotlieb the
woman was distressed and crying and she said she had been raped. Former Detective
Inspector Brian McFadden told the court that he took a statement from Ogle in
July 1988. He agreed it was his
understanding that a decision was taken not to lay charges at the time,
though Ogle faced a police disciplinary hearing and subsequently left the
police. Mr McFadden said he
gave evidence at a civil trial into the matter in 1994. Cross-examined by Mr
Gotlieb, he said he made a note that the woman's lawyer said they were
satisfied with the thoroughness of the inquiry and they "would not make
a public fuss". Mr McFadden said
disciplinary action was taken against an officer over the handling of the
investigation.
* Former Constable
Timothy Nicholas Ogle faces four charges of rape, one charge of unlawful
sexual connection, two charges of attempted unlawful sexual connection and
one of assaulting a woman inside Kaitaia police station
A former Northland
police officer has been committed for trial accused of handcuffing a woman
and raping her in Kaitaia police station. Timothy Nicholas Ogle, 45, was a
constable when the alleged incident happened in March 1988. At a depositions
hearing at Auckland District Court yesterday, Judge Fred McElrea lifted name
suppression on Ogle, who is now an investigator in Queensland. Ogle was
granted bail and the case sent to the High Court in Auckland for trial. |
