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John Dewar HAMILTON - A former Rotorua police
chief admitted he thought a sex assault on Louise Nicholas was
non-consensual, but told her to "move on", a jury was told today. John Buchanan Dewar, 55, of Hamilton,
is on trial at the High Court in Hamilton on four charges of attempting to
obstruct or defeat the course of justice between 1993 and 1995. Dewar was chief inspector in the
Rotorua CIB when Mrs Nicholas approached police in 1993 with two historic sex
allegations, including one against suspended assistant police commissioner
Clint Rickards and former policemen Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum. The Crown alleges Dewar suppressed
allegations Mrs Nicholas made against the three men and attempted to pervert
the course of justice during the rape trial of a former policeman, who has
permanent name suppression, by giving inadmissible evidence. After two mistrials, a third trial
led to the former policeman's acquittal. Mrs Nicholas, then Louise
Crawford, said the former policeman, who was not in the police at the time
the complaint was made, had sexually assaulted her when she was 13. Mrs Nicholas also alleged that at
a Rutland Street address in Rotorua Mr Rickards, Schollum and Shipton had
sexually assaulted her and used a baton on her. Dewar denied Mrs Nicholas told him
about the Rutland Street incident or the baton. Mrs Nicholas said she had been
happy to sign a statement in her name, critical of Inspector Rex Miller who headed
the Miller Inquiry into the handling of the mistrials, as she had found him
gruff and did not like dealing with him, in comparison with Dewar whom she
liked. Mrs Nicholas said she had not read
the report and would not have signed it if she had known the statement said
she had not told Dewar about the incident at Rutland Street and the use of
the baton. "I know if it had done that
... I would have corrected it." Mrs Nicholas said she had skimmed
over the report, which she said she had found was filled with lots of
"impressive" words that she would never have used. "But I signed it knowing I
was helping Dewar out." Mrs Nicholas told the court how
after the three trials she had got on with her life. "It was a matter of having
to, I had three little girls to look after. "There was nothing more that
I could do. "John Dewar had done all he
could." Mrs Nicholas said it was not until
2003 when she was approached by reporter Philip Kitchen, that concerns she
had over the mistrials and complaints began to fall into place, causing her
to rethink her opinion of Dewar. In January 2004 Mrs Nicholas
agreed to wear a wire and confront Dewar at his work in an effort to get him
to confess his role in the investigations. In a 2004 video played to the jury
today, in which Mrs Nicholas was wearing a hidden wire and was being videoed,
Dewar made two references to the baton being used on her and to Rutland
Street. Dewar said he did not think the
baton incident had been consensual but said he believed other aspects of her
involvement with Mr Rickards, Shipton and Schollum had been. In the video, Dewar also says the
three men were his mates at the time and still were. Mrs Nicholas said she had been
raped by the men to which Dewar replied she had obviously not got over it. Dewar told her he did not think it
would be helpful rehashing the past and speaking with the media, who had also
approached him about the investigations, saying he did not want to get
involved. Mrs Nicholas told Dewar the men
had "treated me like an animal". "You're not the only
one," Dewar replied. Dewar said the three men had a
reputation for being party animals at the time, and for boozing up. He then cautioned her over
speaking to the media again, as it might not be in her interests. "It could embarrass a lot of
people," she said. "That's a matter for you.
Would it change anything?" he replied. The video was shown on television
in 2004 and sparked a criminal investigation. After a break the defence was
continuing its cross-examination of Mrs Nicholas. - NZPA NZ Herald John
Dewar Photo Video evidence played to a jury
this morning showed former Rotorua police chief repeatedly telling Louise
Nicholas to "move on" over her complaints of sexual offending. The tape, filmed covertly by an
investigative reporter, showed John Dewar admitting he knew of non-consensual
sexual acts taking place, including the use of a baton. The jury also saw him tell Mrs
Nicholas that he was close friends with Clint Rickards, Brad Shipton and Bob
Schollum. On the tape, Dewar repeatedly said
"the past is past" and told her to "move on". Crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh told
a High Court jury at Hamilton yesterday that Dewar had taken over the
investigation into two separate complaints alleging sexual assaults, made by
Ms Nicholas in 1993. She claimed to have been sexually
assaulted by a police officer in Murupara in the early 1980s, then again in
the mid 80s at Rotorua by Rickards, Shipton and Schollum. That attack was alleged to have
involved use of a police baton. Dewar is defending four charges of
perverting the course of justice. It is alleged that on "on diverse
dates" between January 14, 1993 and July 13, 1993 he suppressed, or failed
to act on the allegations made by Ms Nicholas. In a 2004 video played to the jury
today, in which Mrs Nicholas was wearing a hidden wire and was being videoed,
Dewar made two references to the baton being used on her and to Rutland
Street. Dewar said he did not think the
baton incident had been consensual but said he believed other aspects of her
involvement with Mr Rickards, Shipton and Schollum had been. In the video, Dewar also says the
three men were his mates at the time and still were. Mrs Nicholas said she had been
raped by the men to which Dewar replied she had obviously not got over it. Dewar told her he did not think it
would be helpful rehashing the past and speaking with the media, who had also
approached him about the investigations, saying he did not want to get
involved. Mrs Nicholas told Dewar the men
had "treated me like an animal". "You're not the only
one," Dewar replied. Dewar said the three men had a
reputation for being party animals at the time, and for boozing up. He then cautioned her over
speaking to the media again, as it might not be in her interests. "It could embarrass a lot of
people," she said. "That's a matter for you.
Would it change anything?" he replied. The video was shown on television
in 2004 and sparked a criminal investigation. After a break the defence was
continuing its cross-examination of Mrs Nicholas. - NZPA |
