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Allegations of abuse
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Nicholas vs John Dewar |
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MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times Former top-ranking Hamilton police
officer Rex Miller has spoken of alleged breaches of police protocol by a
former colleague and head of the Rotorua CIB, John Dewar. Mr Miller, a retired detective
chief inspector, yesterday gave evidence at the High Court trial of Dewar,
55, who denies four charges of attempting to obstruct or defeat the course of
justice. The charges relate to the police
investigation into claims by Louise Nicholas that she was sexually assaulted
by serving police officers in Rotorua in the 1980s. Mr Miller was asked to look into
Dewar's investigative procedures and conduct after Dewar twice gave hearsay
evidence at the trial of a former police officer accused of sex offences
against Mrs Nicholas at Murupara. Both trials were abandoned and at
a third trial the officer was acquitted and given permanent name suppression.
In the first trial Dewar told the
court of another police officer who said he was prepared to lie to help the
officer on trial, and in the second he revealed details of an investigation
into Mrs Nicholas' allegations of sexual offending against her by officers
including Clint Rickards, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum. Dewar had headed the investigation
into Mrs Nicholas' allegations against the officer at Murupara, and in the
High Court at Hamilton yesterday Mr Miller said he was surprised at the lack
of information in the prosecution file. "The file, for an inquiry of
that nature, I'd describe it as being very thin and lacking substance. There
was a lack of corroborative evidence on the file, and I just found it was far
too vague for an inquiry of that nature. "On the face of it (the
officer) was arrested on uncorroborated evidence," he said. Mr Miller also said he was unable
to find any file, job sheet, statement or report relating to Mrs Nicholas'
allegations of rape against Mr Rickards, Shipton and Schollum. Mr Miller said Dewar should never
have been involved with investigating Mrs Nicholas' claims against the trio
because he was of the same rank as Mr Rickards. "The right protocol would
have been for him to have disqualified himself from that investigation, being
the same rank as one of the persons being investigated." A statement that Dewar was alleged
to have convinced Mrs Nicholas to sign and give to Mr Miller for his
investigation, stating she had not told Dewar of her allegations against Mr
Rickards, Shipton and Schollum, damaged her credibility. "The statement put her
credibility right on the line and destroyed it, basically. "There was insufficient
evidence to prosecute them . . . her credibility had been put in issue,"
Mr Miller said. The prosecution is expected to
close its case tomorrow. The trial, before Justice Hansen, is set to run
until the end of next week. |
