Delays see sex fiend walk free

A man who confessed to sexually violating a seven-year-old girl had his case thrown out because it took too long to go to trial.

The man, who has name suppression, admitted seven charges of sexually abusing the girl on June 28, 2001, but because of delays with his case - it was more than two years before it got to trial - it was dropped in November last year.

His lawyer, John Rowan, QC, said the delay caused "inherent prejudice" to his client, who had an intellectual disability which prevented him from remembering even "quite recent life events", let alone something he allegedly did between January and March 2001.

Under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, anyone charged with an offence has the right to a trial without undue delay. If a case has moved slowly, the defence can apply to have it thrown out. The man's case is one of 43 that have been dropped, largely due to court system and prosecutorial delays, since 2001. The average age of the nine cases thrown out to September this year is 803 days. The oldest was almost six years.

The girl's parents could not be reached for comment but her uncle told the Herald on Sunday that the stay upset them. "I got pretty wild. I wanted to go see him (the man) and straighten things up straight away, but I got told to mind my own business. So that's what I did."

The officer in charge of the case, Sergeant Sue O'Neil, said she was "absolutely gutted" when the case was dropped. "Once we'd had his video accepted (as evidence), with his full confession on it about all the offending, then to have the case thrown out ... I was gobsmacked."

Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar labelled the amount of stays being granted as "disgraceful".

"That anyone facing a charge can get off scot-free before their case is heard in court is absolutely appalling," he said. 

Judge Peter Butler, who granted the man's stay of proceedings, said he did so reluctantly.

He cited four reasons for delays: There was only one judge in Wanganui; the man's lawyer had "heavy work commitments"; the court gave priority to other matters; and the judge who heard the pre-trial applications had staff shortages to deal with in another district.

The charges faced by those who have had cases thrown out in the past two years include serious offending such as violent, sexual and drug-related crime. The accused include a police officer charged with careless driving (see report alongside), a group of men linked to a $80,000 methamphetamine bust, and alleged wife beaters.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY