Air Force Sergeant facing multiple rape charges

NZME.

25 Nov, 2014 04:51 AM3 mins to read

Robert Richard Roper, 69, is on trial at Auckland District Court facing 25 charges. Photo / File

An ex Air Force Sergeant is accused of more than a decade of sexual offending against five girls, including one who was allegedly bound in a car with a seatbelt and raped.

Robert Richard Roper, 69, is on trial at Auckland District Court facing 25 charges, most of which stemmed from when he lived and worked at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in Hobsonville, west of Auckland, in the 1970s and 80s in the transport division.

The alleged offending only came to light at the end of 2012 when the first complainant came forward claiming Roper began abusing her at the age of 6, progressing to rape as regularly as once a week when she was a teenager.

When she took the stand today she told the jury the offending occasionally happened when his wife was in the house.

By May 2013, police charged him, as friends of the first woman gradually approached police with similar statements.

Crown prosecutor Yelena Yelavich said one woman would tell the court about a night when Roper offered her a lift home.

It is alleged he kissed and groped her as soon as they were in the car, before driving her to an area known as "the bombing range" at the base.

Ms Yelavich said the woman would give evidence that Roper reclined her seat and locked the doors as she tried to escape.

He bound her hands with the seatbelt and raped her, she said.

The fifth complainant did not know the others. She was doing work experience with Roper during the alleged offending.

She accused the defendant of molesting her while she was working and rubbing himself against her from behind.

As well as the sexual charges, there were also five counts of assault after two of the girls said he punched them in the face on several occasions.

Defence counsel Nigel Cooke said the gap between the alleged crimes and the trial would cause serious issues for the jury.

He said there were dead relatives of his client who could not testify, ACC notes were missing and school counsellors' reports from the time were inadequate.

"The difficulty, obviously, is that memories are inaccurate. Distortions and changes of emphasis occur," Mr Cooke said.

"If you've got no documents or people to stand up for you, the position of the accused is pretty dire."

He also warned the jury to prepare themselves for an onslaught of unsavoury material.

"It's a topic that we know about but never have it rammed in our face. Well, you're going to have it rammed in your face over the next week and you're going to have to deal with it," Mr Cooke said.

The trial before Judge Brooke Gibson is expected to run until next week.