Guilty verdict for police officer who extorted free sex from prostitute

A prostitute extorted into giving free sex to a policeman is thankful she has been believed, and now has a "very good relationship" with police.

Nathan Thorose Connolly, 31, resigned from the police last year after his actions were exposed, and was yesterday found guilty by a High Court jury of misusing his authority as a police officer to threaten and induce sex from the woman.

The jury found him not guilty of another charge of the same nature, and a charge of corruptly obtaining a bribe from the woman. The verdicts came as a surprise to some as all three charges, relating to incidents between 2006 and 2007, appeared to be closely linked.

The Herald can now reveal that Connolly also abused his police authority in a separate event, when he elbowed a man three times in the face as he sat handcuffed in a police car in 2005.

The prosecution said Connolly initially paid for sex from the Christchurch prostitute, but began receiving it for free after stopping her in his police car and telling her he could give her a thousand dollars' worth of tickets or have her car towed.

He now faces up to 14 years in prison when he is sentenced on December 17.

The prostitute, 35, was not in court to hear the verdicts, but said through Prostitutes Collective spokeswoman Anna Reed that she was glad her version of events had been believed, and that the ordeal was now over.

"It was very courageous of her to come forward," Ms Reed said.

"The police have been fantastic. I can't praise the police enough. They took it really seriously in the first instance, and worked really closely with the person."

Ms Reed called Connolly a "bad egg". The relationship between sex workers and police in Christchurch was otherwise at an "all-time high".

"We share a lot of information and I think a lot more gets reported to them than it had in the past, especially since the law has changed, and people feel as though they will be taken seriously."

Following the 2005 assault by Connolly in Greymouth, police were sued and the victim, Steven Fredericks, was given a payout of $5000.

In making his judgment, Judge Colin Doherty called Connolly's actions "truly outrageous".

"Constable Connolly was in my view frustrated and wanted to teach (Mr Fredericks) a lesson because of his earlier resistance," the judge said.

Canterbury police district commander, Superintendent Dave Cliff, said it was always disappointing when a person in a position of trust abused that trust.

Connolly's lawyer, Jonathan Eaton, said he accepted jail was the most likely outcome for his client. Connolly was released on bail until his sentencing, but has been ordered to surrender his passport, and stay away from his victim.