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Nicholas vs John Dewar |
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The defence in the trial of former
top police officer John Dewar has attempted to pick apart the Crown's key
witness Louise Nicholas. Dewar faces four counts of attempting
to pervert the course of justice by failing to investigate her rape
complaints against other police officers. Nicholas was back in the witness
box on Thursday but this time under fire from Dewar's lawyer. Signed statements were produced in
court as evidence from the mid-1990s and the jury heard how Dewar had written
a statement for Nicholas. Nicholas, who then signed it, said
it was full of impressive words. But she says she had not read it, rather she
had just skimmed through it. It confirms Nicholas never told
Dewar about the sexual assault allegations against police officers Clint
Rickards, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum. But Nicholas says that was wrong,
and she would not have signed it if she had read it properly. On Thursday she repeatedly told the
court she did tell Dewar about the rape allegations the first time they met
and that he did nothing. Nicholas's mother Barbra Crawford
was at that first meeting as a support person. "She also mentioned or told
him about Shipton, Schollum and Rickards," said Crawford. She added that Dewar said they
would deal with a fourth man, who has name suppression first, and "the
others later". Crawford says Dewar would only
concentrate on the fourth name in the complaint her daughter made, not the
three other names she mentioned. "They had sexually abused
her. I don't remember whether the word rape was used," said Crawford. The trial continues, now with just
11 jurors, the twelfth was discharged due to illness. |
