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Waikato
Times
May 23, 1998
Victim of false accusation admitted to Bar
NZPA
Nick Wills' law degree cost more than the usual blood, sweat and tears.
Nearly three years ago his legal future was nearly destroyed by a fellow
student's false accusation of rape.
Yesterday he was back in a Hamilton
court but the outlook was not nearly as grim. Mr Wills was admitted as a
barrister and solicitor of the High Court.
A friend and mentor, Hamilton
lawyer Warren Scotter, was by his former client's side and moved his
admission to the Bar.
Mr Wills was a 22-year-old science graduate embarking on his second degree at
Waikato University when his life turned to hell
in August 1995.
Accused of a brutal rape, he was branded a serial rapist and harassed on
campus, losing his job and home at the university hostel.
Mr Wills fought to preserve his future and, with his parents, began a private
investigation to prove his innocence. Mr Scotter persuaded the police to
re-interview the 18-year-old complainant who confessed to lying.
Three months after Mr Wills' arrest the charges were dropped. The police
investigation was later criticised by the Police Complaints Authority.
Mr Wills, who is working with the Hamilton
law firm James and Wells, said his experience had steered him towards a
career in litigation.
He said the memory of the traumatic time would never leave him. "But I
would like to move on now. Instead of being known as the guy who went through
all that, I want to be known as a really good lawyer." -- NZPA
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