The woman - who has automatic name suppression - told her interviewer that Taylor kissed her and groped her on three different occasions at her stepfather’s birthday party in April 2012.
The court heard that over a period of around two hours, Taylor repeatedly came into her bedroom at her stepfather’s house. She pinned her down on the bed, forcibly kissed her and groped her, the complainant alleged.
The woman told the police officer in the video that Taylor was taunting her while she touched her.
“She said ‘Your father doesn’t love you, you know you love me,’” the complainant alleged.
On each occasion, she yelled for help but could not be heard over the noise of the party, where around 15 people were drinking and listening to music.
In the video evidence heard by the court, the woman said she was outmuscled by Taylor. She was “tiny” as an 11-year-old and was approximately 40kg lighter than her alleged attacker.
At the time, she called her mother and her grandparents to pick her up from the party. But she did not tell them what had happened.
Around nine years later, the woman ran into Taylor at her work, the court heard. She changed shifts to ensure she did not run into her again.
She then got a job at St Cuthbert’s College, where Taylor was working as a communications manager.
The woman had been working there for a year when she discovered Taylor was a colleague, after clicking on an email which had Taylor’s name at the bottom.
“I thought ‘Oh my God, we work in the same place.’”
She ran into Taylor in her office soon after that, and kept seeing her around the school, which was distressing, she said.
She was seeing a therapist at the time, and the therapist encouraged her to take action.
“I can’t do this,” she recalled thinking at the time. “I need to do something about this, I can’t live like this. It’s not fair on me.”
The woman reported the historic incidents to police, who laid charges in 2021.
THE PARTY
Taylor faces three charges of sexual conduct on a child under 12 years old.
It relates to alleged indecent acts on three occasions on April 8, 2012. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.
She previously held communications jobs at St Cuthbert’s College and the NZ Film Commission.
She was not working for the all-girls boarding school when the offending took place, but was employed there when a complaint was made to police in 2021.
Opening the trial today, Crown prosecutor Sarah Murphy said the allegations stemmed from her stepfather’s 30th birthday party in 2012, which Taylor was attending.
At about 9pm, Taylor, who had been drinking, went into the girl’s bedroom and closed the door, Murphy told the court.
Taylor pinned her arms to the bed and kissed her, jurors heard, while the complainant tried to shout out but could not be heard over the noise of the party.
Taylor left the room and returned a few minutes later, Murphy alleged, when she removed the complainant’s blanket and touched her body.
When Taylor left the room, the 11-year-old girl texted her mother and asked her to come pick her up, Murphy said.
Taylor came back to her room a third time and allegedly touched the complainant again, the court heard.
The complainant’s stepfather was contacted by the girl’s mother and was surprised to hear that she was coming to pick her up.
At this point, Taylor’s behaviour deteriorated, Murphy said, and she tried to prevent the family member from speaking to the girl, was “out of control”, smashed plates and ran headfirst into a glass door.
The police were called, and officers took Taylor away, the court heard.
Taylor’s lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg KC, said in an opening statement this morning that nothing the complainant had alleged was true.
“Nothing of this kind happened. There is no mistake or problem with memory … fairly and squarely the defence is the allegations against Jemma Taylor are fabricated and they are lies.”
The trial is set down for five days.
Isaac Davison is an Auckland-based reporter who covers health issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics, and social issues.
