Ex-MP to face suppression charges

File photo / NZ Herald

A former National MP will be in the court dock tomorrow on charges of breaching suppression for tweeting the name of a prominent man who pleaded guilty to performing an indecent act but was later discharged without conviction and granted permanent name suppression.

The former MP is due to appear before a district court tomorrow morning on charges of knowingly breaching suppression orders under the Criminal Procedure Act.

The offence is punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment or a fine of up to $100,000 to knowingly or recklessly publish a name, address, occupation, or other information in breach of a suppression order.

The former MP tweeted the man's name last month. The tweet has not been deleted from his feed.

The former MP did not return calls.

Police confirmed the charge had been laid and the former MP would appear in court, but would not comment further.

The man's case has attracted significant attention. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to performing an indecent act for an incident in 2011. He was later discharged without conviction and given permanent name suppression.

The woman at the centre of the case, Louise Helmsley, applied and succeeded in having her own name suppression set aside in October this year. She spoke out about the case, pushing for the man's suppression to also be lifted.