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Nicholas vs John Dewar |
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John Dewar. A woman yesterday told a court she
had group sex with former Rotorua policemen John Dewar and Brad Shipton,
contradicting claims by Dewar that he never had more than a working
relationship with Shipton. Dewar is facing charges of
covering up or failing to act on rape complaints made by another woman,
Louise Nicholas, in the early 1990s. Dewar was head of Rotorua's CIB at
the time, and he claims he did not have a personal relationship with Shipton
and fellow officers Bob Schollum and Clint Rickards, who were accused of the
attacks. He has previously said to the
media that he fully investigated the claims. Dewar is also accused in the High
Court at Hamilton of manipulating Mrs Nicholas during a police investigation
into evidence he gave at rape hearings dubbed the "Murupara
trials", and faces two further charges of giving inadmissible hearsay
evidence at two of those trials. Yesterday, a woman, whose name is
suppressed, spoke of how she was "angry and shocked" to see Dewar
claim in a 2004 television interview that he knew Shipton and Rickards only
in a professional capacity. The interview was conducted after
news broke of the Louise Nicholas allegations against the men, including
Dewar. Dewar had said on television that
assumptions of any personal relationship with Schollum, Rickards and Shipton
were "absurd and ridiculous" and challenged anyone who could
counter his claim to come forward. The woman witness yesterday said
she subsequently made herself known to a reporter. She told the court she knew
Dewar's contention was wrong because she had seen Shipton and Dewar in a
"close personal relationship", and she knew Shipton and Rickards
were also close. The woman said group sex took
place between her and Shipton and Rickards on about six occasions. "There was one occasion where
I had sex with Mr John Dewar and Mr Shipton." The Crown prosecutor, Brent
Stanaway, QC, asked: "How did that come about?" The witness: "They arrived at
my house late at night. I was introduced to him [Dewar] as his [Shipton's]
boss and friend John Dewar." Sexual intercourse took place with
both men at the same time. The woman said this occurred about
the time that Dewar was transferred from Auckland to the CIB in Rotorua, in
late 1987 or early 1988. About two weeks after the first
sexual encounter, Dewar returned to the woman's house alone and had sex with
her again. Earlier, another woman, Tiri
Marescau-Allison, told the court she was a typist at the Rotorua police
station from 1992 to 1996. She said Dewar and Shipton were
part of a core group of four officers who were closer friends with one
another than with other officers. It was also revealed in court yesterday
that Dewar tried to mislead a Herald reporter in 2004. Ainsley Thomson, now based in
Britain, appeared as a witness and said she interviewed Dewar immediately
after Mrs Nicholas made her rape allegations against Shipton, Rickards and
Schollum. Dewar told Ms Thomson he had
investigated Ms Nicholas's claims but there was not enough evidence to bring
the three men to trial. He gave her a bundle of letters
that included reference to a separate rape investigation he headed in 1993,
the "Murupara trials". In these, he had substituted
blanked-out names of other police officers (named in the letters) with those
of Schollum, Rickards and Shipton.
·
John Dewar was Rotorua's CIB head in the 1990s. ·
During that time, Louise Nicholas claimed policemen Brad Shipton, Bob
Schollum and Clint Rickards had raped her, in 1986. ·
The prosecution alleges Dewar did not investigate the complaint. ·
Dewar claims he did, and says he had only a professional relationship
with the other officers. ·
But yesterday two women said Shipton and Dewar were close. One said
she had group sex with both men. |
