Arts community relieved Sir James Wallace has been publicly named

By RNZ

The arts community is relieved Sir James Wallace has been publicly named for indecently assaulting three young men in the early 2000s, 2008 and 2016.

The millionaire patron of the arts is said to have used his power and influence to pressure hundreds in the community for their support to keep him out of jail.

For five years he was referred to only as a “prominent businessman”, but on Wednesday Wallace’s name suppression lapsed in the Supreme Court.

He was initially charged in 2017, with the case running through the courts over several years and several appeals.

At the 2021 trial, this victim told the court he felt “creeped out” at Wallace’s house and when he turned to leave, Wallace came up behind him, squeezed his backside and whispered in his ear, “God, you’ve got such a sweet arse.”

“I just froze. I kind of got a fright and then [Wallace] started to kiss the back of my neck,” the victim said.

Crown prosecutor Simon Foote said at the initial trial in 2019: “This case is about a rich and influential businessman who has used his powerful position to take advantage of others.”

RNZ journalist and arts commentator Mark Amery said Wallace felt he had the power to keep his name out of the public eye, while silencing the community.

“There is some kind of violence in name suppression, I think, that we’ve all been experiencing over quite a few years.

Sir James Wallace appears at the Auckland District Court. Photo / Jason Oxenham

“I mean it was to the point where James Wallace actually emailed hundreds of people, whilst under name suppression, asking for support towards not going to jail. So it’s been a very painful experience for everyone - particularly for the victims, for their families.”

Art commentator, curator and columnist Hamish Keith said the real victims, and the heroes, were the young men who refused to be coerced, stuck to their story and kept telling the truth.

“The fact that he was able to hide and suppress, even the fact that he sent something like a hundred emails to people saying would they help him ... was a shameful performance all round.”

Victim advocate Ruth Money said Wallace’s fortune meant he was able to drag out the case - and she’s worried about its effect on other victims of crime.

“I get concerned with cases like this because it can demotivate people to come forward for disclosures, but not every case goes as slowly as this. In this case we had a very over-resourced offender. Most offenders would not be able to draw this out at such a level of resource, which just shows different outcomes within the justice system.”

She expected the survivors would feel a rollercoaster of emotions.

“There’ll be much to process. Any news or outcome in the justice system, all media that runs, brings it back for a survivor. There’s no escaping that there will be a high level of trauma, revictimisation and relief.”

Wallace was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after a jury found him guilty of indecent assault and then twice trying to bribe one victim to drop the complaint.

He was serving his sentence in Auckland’s Mt Eden Prison, and the Government has started the process to strip him of his knighthood.