Former All Black Robert Kururangi speaks: The other side of a very public sexual abuse trial

Robert Kururangi, aged 66 years, a former All Black with his daughters Gabbie Kururangi (left) and Ariel Kururangi. Kururangi was found not guilty of seven child sex abuse charges in the Manukau District Court.

In the realm of criminal justice, some cases divide families and test the spirit of those who have been accused. For one man, a long and arduous journey through the emotional toll of legal proceedings has culminated in his vindication when in less than three hours, a jury found him not guilty of sexually abusing his daughter.

“This all started a long time ago, they wanted to re-dredge it up and it was a shock,” Robert Kururangi tells NZME, unravelling his story of a broken marriage, custody struggles and an unrelenting pursuit of justice.

The former All Black stood trial recently in the Manukau District Court for seven alleged historic charges of sexually violating and indecently assaulting his daughter Emma-Jayne Kururangi when she was between 5 and 8 years old.

While his daughter, who chose to have her right to automatic name suppression lifted, continues to stand by her allegations despite the jury’s verdict, Kururangi is trying to move on with his life now that the case is finally closed.

The story began in Northern Ireland in 1978 when he met a woman called Yvonne Wilson while on tour with the All Blacks.

He already had one child with a previous partner. The couple married and had two children, including Emma-Jayne, and settled in New Zealand.

Kururangi believes moving to New Zealand was a decision that would lay the foundation for years of turmoil when the marriage began to break down in the early 1990s.

“She went to see her family, and she didn’t come back. And when she did come back, we had issues and she started claiming all this other stuff,” he explains.

An unexpected turn

It was during this time that the allegations of abuse were first put to Kururangi but it’s taken nearly three decades before they were put to a jury.

During his recent trial, the prosecution claimed the abuse happened both in the family home while the couple were together - and later after he moved out and the children went to stay with him on weekends.

Kururangi believes the allegations were made at the time to limit his access to his children after the marriage ended.

“It’s preposterous. I had other kids, they came with me, and I looked after them every night. There was no problem with any of my other kids, it was a normal whānau house in Māngere Bridge.”

Kururangi recalls it being a difficult time in his life, especially when Wilson took the children back to the UK for a period of time before returning to New Zealand.

“It was worse than anything else when you have your children removed from a country and you can’t get them. It’s pretty desperate. I’ve been going through this for a long time.”

The 66-year-old went on to have three more children with a new partner, settling on the East Coast where he was born and raised, building a rigging business and coaching kids sports.

One of those children Ariel, 23, recalls an upbringing with her dad filled with life lessons.

Robert Kururangi with three of his children. Supplied / Ariel Kururangi

“He taught me everything I know that isn’t academic, like how to put up a tent, how to chop firewood. He was always helping everyone, the kindest person. If he knows there’s a family that needs a feed, he will take one,” she told NZME.

“He would work long 12-hour days, spend his weekends coaching rugby teams and Sundays would be cleaning up the house or whānau lunches. He’s a very humble, selfless man.”

Three years ago the allegations resurfaced.

Emma-Jayne, who had moved back to the UK in her late teens, made a statement to the Metropolitan UK police saying “my father, an ex-All Black” had abused her.

As a father who had his other children without any concerns ever being raised, the family found it incomprehensible that accusations were being directed at him and Kururangi’s life was thrown into turmoil again.

“She worked with me for a little bit before she went back to the UK. We seemed to be okay at that stage, but then, through the Covid thing, I heard she made these allegations. I confronted her about it, and then the police came through and charged me.

“I had to defend myself. I had to dig deep, talk to a lot of my family and get comfort from the fact they were right behind me. It was embarrassing for my family to hear what she said.”

Not only was the family distressed, but the use of the All Black name across the statements bewildered the family.

“That was quite hurtful. You don’t make a team like that by being an idiot. It’s not an easy position to make and it’s not something to take lightly,” Kururangi said.

Ariel also believed the use of the All Black name was unnecessary to the allegations.

“I thought why do you have to throw that in there? Why would you bring up he’s an All Black before you say what happened?”

During the trial, the Crown said she reported the abuse to several people over the years. Prosecutors also produced five diaries written by Kururangi’s ex-wife over the period they were separating. Emma-Jayne had read them around 2020, shortly before she approached the police.

Robert Kururangi, All Black number 286, played 91 times for Counties Manukau between 1977 and 1984, scoring 4 tries for New Zealand in 8 appearances on the 1978 tour of the UK.

It was the defence case that Wilson’s feelings towards her ex-husband and the separation had tainted Emma-Jayne’s memories of what really happened.

At the end of the hearing it was up was up to a jury to decide if her memory was correct or Kururangi was telling the truth.

“The 12 of them [the jury] had to make the decision, my life is in their hands. I can’t do anything, I can’t say anything. I have to sit in a dock in a courtroom which is horrible.”

The court of public opinion

Kururangi’s approach to the allegations was a measured one, seeking legal advice with his defence team Annabell Maxwell-Scott, Nathan Batts and private investigator Neill Hallett from Helix Investigations.

Hallett meticulously examined the evidence, including a report by a psychologist when some of the allegations were first made during the marriage breakdown. That report was presented during the trial.

“My impression of the file was that Robert certainly had what looked like a pretty good defence to the charges, particularly when you read the psychologist’s report that said she didn’t believe anything had happened.

“I was a bit taken aback when I read that because that’s a pretty good indication. It’s a temperature test taken way closer to the alleged events than 30 years later.”

Hallett spoke with several witnesses and ex-rugby players and believed it was a dangerous prosecution to bring on someone who must now live with public scrutiny.

“If you accuse someone of being a paedophile then in the eyes of the public that’s good enough to be seen as one. Particular care should be taken when dealing with a matter from decades ago, where there is little or no corroborating evidence.

“Common sense suggests caution should have been taken in laying the charges and my concern is that police seem to be taking the view perhaps because it’s been voiced on them by the courts or by the IPCA if in doubt, regardless, we’ll let the court decide rather than looking at each case on its merits.

“Whether or not on the face of it, there is enough evidence to support a prosecution and whether or not a prosecution is in the public interest. There needs to be a debate about that.”

Private investigator Neil Hallett was a police officer for 35 years and now works for defendants fighting court cases. Photo / Helix Investigations

Hallett, with his 35-year background in policing, and after interviewing Kururangi’s other children, said the damage has been done.

“This prosecution has resulted in Mr Kururangi having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on his defence, money he should have been able to spend on himself at this time of life. The stress he endured during the three years it took from when Emma-Jayne first made her complaint to him being acquitted was, I know, at times almost unbearable.

“I do this work because I believe in justice and everybody is entitled to a fair trial.

“The problem with being accused of being a paedophile is the court of public opinion has you convicted and sentenced there and then and that is irksome. It could happen to me or anyone and it would be bloody awful,” Hallett said.

NZME approached New Zealand Police for comment and a spokesperson said “Police are limited in comment regarding the decisions, however, note this was prosecuted in line with the Solicitor-General’s prosecutions guidelines.”

Complainants in court cases of a sexual nature are granted automatic name suppression and if there is a familial relationship, the accused is also often granted name suppression to protect the identity of the complainant.

Kururangi told NZME that the impact of the accusations and the decision to lift his daughter’s name suppression, at her request, before the trial ended caused collateral damage to the entire family.

“I thought it was wrong – What about my kids? What about the other brothers and sisters?”

Ariel echoed the toll the public scrutiny of her father had taken on them.

“I thought when the verdict was read out, that would be the end of it, we’ve been through so much but to see a video of [the complainant\ a week later in the press was like another kick in the guts. The defamation is absurd to me that someone can do that, constantly slandering my dad and the name we all carry.

“My dad was innocent and has always been innocent. The Crown needed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that what she and the Crown accused my dad of doing had actually happened which she nor the Crown could not do. The jury came back quite quickly with a unanimous not-guilty verdict.

“The judge said throughout the trial ‘Mr Kururangi is innocent. He doesn’t have to do anything here he just has to be present, we are here because the Crown has brought the case. You cannot look at him as if he is guilty, you have to treat him as an innocent man’ unless they saw enough evidence to change that.”

When NZME contacted Emma-Jayne for comment she said “not guilty isn’t the same as innocent” before referring us to her LinkedIn profile.

“The verdict is less important than the process to heal. I can never thank you all enough,” she wrote.

“Judge Grau your words post-verdict ‘I want to acknowledge you and your bravery, for coming to court and talking about these matters’, I deeply appreciated the respect by acknowledging the journey we’d travelled.”

As for Kururangi, it’s now time to look forward.

After years of preparing for court and the eventual acquittal, Ariel said her dad’s health has declined but he looks back on the entire ordeal with a sense of closure, choosing to focus on his business and refusing to dwell on it.

“To think that I had done some of those things is out of this world. The jury came back so quickly and that is the proof of the pudding.

“It was quite a shock, but in life, if you think about it too much, you miss the boat.

“I didn’t miss the boat. I made sure I had to do what I had to do.”

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.