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Allegations of abuse
by NZ Police |
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peterellis homepage / police allegations / Louise
Nicholas vs John Dewar |
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John Dewar is expected to give
evidence in the High Court at Hamilton today as he defends four counts of
attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice. It is alleged he covered up rape
complaints by Louise Nicholas to help protect his mates. Mr Dewar's defence
is that he investigated all the allegations fully, but decided not to proceed
with charges because there was not enough evidence. At the time of the
allegations he was head of the Rotorua CIB and told another officer he would
take over the investigation because it involved serving officers. However, he denies knowing of such
a serious complaint against the officers, who at that point were still
serving. The Crown concluded its evidence
on Friday, calling the detective who ran the Operation Austin inquiry into
Mrs Nicholas' allegations who eventually arrested Mr Dewar. He testified about John Dewar's
frequent appearances at the trials of three others charged with molesting Mrs
Nicholas, saying there appeared to be a close bond between him and the
accused. Another senior officer, Superintendent
Mark Lammas, told the court the way the Nicholas complaints were handled fell
outside normal procedures. He said the reporting of any allegation, no matter
how vague, should have been passed to the district commander. |
