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This page last updated Jan 3 2005
2000-0731 - Dominion - The rape
risk
by
David McLoughlin - "The complainant in Nick's case was totally
believable, but there wasn't a scintilla of truth to her allegations,"
Mr Scotter says. "Had it gone to trial, he could easily have been
convicted." Mr Scotter says
police attitudes to rape complainants have changed as a result of publicity
about Mr Wills's case, which featured on television in 60 Minutes. "I
have no doubt police are more careful now," he says, but adds that it is
still very easy for an innocent man to be charged with and convicted of rape.
2000-0715 - The Press - The accused
New Jan 3 2005
by Diana Dekker - Prisons are full of people who say they are
innocent. Sometimes they are. Lawyer Nick Wills sometimes wakes up in a sweat
after nightmares in which police are at the door. Five years ago he was
falsely accused of rape. He was 22, had been head boy at his high school, was
popular, and had, as his mother, Viv d'Or says, "lived a pretty blessed
life". When the accusation was made, he was "chucked in the cells
and treated like a common criminal".
2000-0711 - Evening Post -
Rape crisis centre appeal draws raft of obscene mail
by
Mary Longmore - Other men cleared of rape subsequently spoke out, including
former Waikato University student Nick Wills. But Ms
Ross said the publicity distorted the truth about false accusations, which were
rare.
2000-0708 - Evening Post - The
accused
by
Diana Dekker - Lawyer Nick Wills sometimes wakes up in a sweat after
nightmares in which police are at the door. Five years ago he was falsely accused
of rape. He was 22, had been head boy at Te Puke Boys' High, was popular,
had, as his mother, Viv d'Or says, "lived a pretty blessed life".
When the accusation was made, he was "chucked in the cells and treated
like a common criminal". It took three months for his name to be cleared
and for the woman who made his life and the life of his family a misery, to
be put in the dock. "She has no idea of what she put us through,"
say d'Or, who tries to be charitable and remember the woman had a history of
psychiatric problems. "It was a nightmare for a lot of people."
2000-0707 - Truth - How false
complaints can destroy lives
by
Leslie Watkins - Legal fees also swallowed the $30,000 compensation Hamilton
law student Nick Wills, 22, eventually received from the police and the firm
that sacked him after he had been falsely accused of rape. Police had failed
to check his alibi, medical evidence was inconsistent, and there were huge
flaws in the woman's story. Wills has described the resulting "deep
personal scars"--he became uneasy around women and felt the need to
always have an alibi.
2000-0218 - Dominion -
Complaints of rape
by
F. Goodyear-Smith - A practice of implicitly believing the victim means an
effective presumption of guilt. The stories of Nick Wills, Alan Collier and
Alan Rush exemplify the suffering and destruction wreaked in the lives of
hundreds of New Zealand
families from this misguided policy.
1998-0525 - The Press - False
charge fails to halt career in law
New Jan 3 2005
NZPA - Nick Wills's law degree cost more than the usual blood, sweat,
and tears. Almost three years ago his legal future was nearly destroyed by a
fellow student's false accusation of rape. Yesterday he was back in court but
the outlook was not nearly as grim.
1998-0523 - Waikato Times
- 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
1998-0523 - Waikato Times -
Ex-accused on track
NZPA
- Nick Wills' law degree cost more than the usual blood, sweat and tears
1998-0523 - Evening Post - A
lawyer against all odds
NZPA
- Nick Wills' law degree cost more than the usual blood, sweat and tears
1997-1202 - Dominion -
Hundreds falsely accused, says group
New Jan 3
2005
by Annie Gray - A Ministerial inquiry is being called for into cases
where men have been convicted of sexual offences on the basis of
uncorroborated testimonies……. Caption - Nick Wills, left, falsely accused of
rape
1997-1202 - Dominion - How
the nightmare starts
New Jan 3
2005
by Annie Gray - False accusations of sex attacks ruin lives. David
Dougherty and Nick Wills have now established their innocence. Annie Gray
reports on another man's ordeal after being falsely accused…..
1997-1002 - Dominion - Overhaul
for bad justice
Editorial - A slipshod investigation put Waikato University
student Nick Wills through hell in 1995 after he was falsely accused of rape.
1997-0512 - Waikato Times -
Police waste their time on Bain review
Editorial - Then there was also the case of Hamilton student Nick Wills who in
1995 was charged with rape because police failed to do something as basic as
check his alibi
1997-0504 - Sunday Star Times -
Beware, not all rapes are the same
by Frank Haden - Any woman who knowingly makes such a false accusation should be
pilloried without mercy. Instead, the woman who falsely accused Waikato
student Nick Wills had her name suppressed, thanks to the efforts of Rape
Crisis, when by rights she should have gone to prison for a long time. It was
all right for Mr Wills to have his name smeared, in the view of Rape Crisis,
because all men are rapists. But she was entitled to have hers
suppressed.
1997-0503 - Dominion -
Repercussions for Rape Crisis
by
Phil Wallington - Rape awareness week got off to a bad start in Monday's
Dominion, with former Rape Crisis centre spokeswoman Toni Allwood attacking
the journalistic standards of 60 Minutes in an attempt to mitigate some of
the damage she did to her own organisation. Last year Ms Allwood and Rape
Crisis threw in their lot with a young woman who had falsely and maliciously
accused an innocent young man of rape. ....Her manifest lack of sympathy for
the male victim, Nick Wills, offended many New Zealanders
1997-0428 - Dominion - Speaking
up against rape
by
Val Aldridge - ......That's Toni (women-never-lie-about-rape) Allwood. Toni
says, "I never ever said that." And yet it's been repeated so often
that now it is commonly believed she did. .... Ms Allwood got a lot of hate
mail, particularly after the 60 Minutes story on Nick Wills (the Waikato man whose conviction of rape on false evidence
was eventually quashed).
1997-0218 - Dominion - Complaints
of rape
New Jan 3 2005
by F Goodyear-Smith - A practice of implicitly believing the victim
means an effective presumption of guilt. The stories of Nick Wills, Alan
Collier and Alan Rush (The Dominion, February 6 and 7) exemplify the
suffering and destruction wreaked in the lives of hundreds of New Zealand
families from this misguided policy.
1997-0208 - Daily News - Sex Lies
and Mens Reputations
New Jan 3 2005
by Rosemary McLeod - "Though I've never met a Rape Crisis person,
you have the suspicion that they apply for the job on the basis that all men
are rapists, and all women tell the truth. If it's not a true story, and the
woman is getting all this support and belief, it's a dangerous thing. It sets
things off on a pretty dangerous path." Viv d'Or, Nick Wills's mother,
agrees.
1997-0104 - Waikato
Times - Rape claim trauma remains
Nick
Wills is still carrying the scars of being falsely accused of rape last year.
....Mr Wills was cleared of the rape charges three months after they were
laid ....His accuser, who remains anonymous, was charged with making a false
complaint to police. His claims of an inadequate police investigation into
his case were vindicated in October when a Police Complaints Authority report
said there was a "neglect of duty" by the police in their handling
of the rape inquiry.
1996-1215_Sunday Star Times -
Rape and allegations
New Jan 3 2005
by G Waugh - Of course women make false allegations of rape. And when
they do, they are rightly accused of "lying, scheming and
manipulating". Remember Nick Wills and many others in similar
predicaments?
1996-1115 - Truth - Where's
the justice?
New Jan 3 2005
by Leslie Watkins - Hamilton
law student Nick Wills was 21 when his life was devastated by a female's
allegation of rape. He was arrested in August last year and faced the
prospect of a ten-year sentence. The woman then confessed--her rape story was
fantasy. She, like Leggett, was convicted of making a false statement and
sentenced to 150 hours community service.
1996-1112 - Waikato Times
- Judiciary takes a dim view
by
Kris McGehen - In August last year Nick Wills was branded a rapist. Three
months later he was cleared of all charges when his accuser admitted lying to
police. The Times examines how police and courts handle false complaints.
1996-1018 - Daily News - Double
injustice is something our system can well do without
Editorial - Unfortunately, one man is suffering. Nick Wills, a 22-year-old Waikato University student, is not a rapist. A
woman claimed he was in August last year. He was sacked as deputy warden of
the university hostel. The woman was subsequently convicted of making a false
statement to the police. Mr Wills was cleared of charges of rape and
threatening to kill, but his name is in public arena now as it was back then.
The woman's name was suppressed.
1996-1017 - Waikato
Times - Rape claim victim hits back at police
by
Kris McGehan - "The most important part of all this has been the very
bad handling of the case by the police. I know that my accuser was very
convincing -- I'm not disputing that. "But the fact is that they (the
police) didn't do their job properly. I wasn't going to let them get away
with it." Nick Wills still calls the three months he spent under
suspicion "pure hell" for which he cannot be compensated.
1996-1016 - Waikato Times -
Police admit mistakes in rape inquiry
by
Kris McGehan - Police today admitted they made mistakes in the investigation
of a complaint of rape against a Hamilton
man. The Police Complaints Authority today revealed it had upheld a complaint
by Waikato University student Nick Wills against
the police who investigated the rape complaint made against him. Mr Wills
said he was branded a serial rapist and was harassed because of his arrest.
1996-0728 - Sunday News -
Sometimes there's reasonable doubt about common sense
by
George Balani - IS our justice system letting us down? Is our police force letting
us down? Certainly most of the work the police do is beyond reproach, but in
some cases it would seem common sense or logic disappear. Remember what
turned out to be a false accusation of rape against Waikato University
student Nick Wills. Police followed a single-minded path looking for a
conviction, overlooking obvious evidence of an alibi, and were it not for
Nick's parents a conviction would almost certainly have resulted.
1996-0417 - Waikato Times
- Victim critical of police
New Jan 3
2005
by Kris McGehan - Nick Wills is no rapist. Everyone knows that -- now.
Yet some of the stigma remains from a harrowing tale of sex, lies and deceit
the 22-year-old Waikato
University student has
endured in the past year. This week a Police Complaints Authority report
vindicated his claims that police should not have charged him with rape last
year.
1996-0408 - Dominion - Rape
law reform
New Jan 3 2005
by Gordon Waugh - After the 60 Minutes television programme segment on
a false allegation of rape against a young Waikato University law student,
Nick Wills, there has been an enormously adverse reaction to the comments
made by Toni Allwood, the national co-ordinator of Rape Crisis, and equally
many expressions of sympathy for Nick Wills
1996-0407 - Sunday Star Times - Why I'm
wary of Rape Crisis
by Frank Haden - The system failed lamentably in the case of Nick Wills. He was wrongly
held in jail when police ignored his rock-solid alibi and failed to
investigate his accuser's claims properly. His good name was smeared, his
career was jeopardised by a woman who made up a pack of intricately detailed
lies, claiming he raped her, knocked her about and threatened to kill her. If
it had not been for his parents and a determined lawyer, he would have been
convicted and sent to jail for nine years. ........Then we saw Rape Crisis in
its true colours. Toni Allwood, its national co-ordinator, tried vainly to
defend its action in preserving the liar's reputation. The false accuser
simply made a mistake, a youthful mistake, she said, and should be allowed to
get on with her life. Some mistake! Some liar
1996-0407 - Sunday News -
Rape Crisis in crisis of its own TV show affects fundraising
by
Paulette Crowley - Rape Crisis is in crisis after fallout from televison's 60
Minutes show last week, which showed a Hamilton man falsely accused of rape.
.......Rape Crisis defended the alleged victim, and took out a court
injunction to prevent 60 Minutes from broadcasting her name. They say the
girl, known only as Wendy, was raped, even though she admitted she made it up
and was subsequently charged with giving a false statement.
1996-0407 - Sunday News -
Police prosecute and ask questions later
by
George Balani - Last week I had a go at the police over their obviously
inadequate handling of a couple of murder cases. At that time, I was unaware
of the Hamilton
case of young university student Nick Wills, falsely accused of rape. Another
graphic illustration of the police not doing their job properly. How can it
be that police investigating such a serious allegation didn't bother to check
out such a straightforward thing as Nick's alibi? How can it be that senior
police detectives didn't ask pertinent questions about the accuser and
uncover her many fantasies?
1996-0331 - Sunday
News - Falsely accused of rape
Nick
Wills was a marked man. The Hamilton
law student was falsely accused of rape and threatening to kill last year and
was looking at a 10-year sentence if found guilty. But the woman, living in
the same hall of residence at Waikato University as Wills, confessed to
police only days before the depositions she had made up the story.
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