Sir James Wallace appears at the Auckland District Court. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Sir James Wallace appears at the Auckland District Court. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Herald podcast A Moment In Crime has today released the first of a three-part special delving into one of the most high-profile and scandalous sex abuse trials this country has seen.
Until his spectacular fall from grace, the Auckland rich-lister was considered one of the biggest supporters of New Zealand film and art.
The flamboyant philanthropist lived a life of opulence and spread his fortune - estimated at around $170 million - generously among up-and-coming musicians, writers, actors, dancers and community groups.
He amassed a collection of art like no other in this country, sharing his pieces in notable buildings like the Supreme Court and Pah Homestead, where they could be viewed and enjoyed by all Kiwis.
Wallace was respected, revered - and even knighted.
In February 2017 the Herald broke the story that Wallace had been charged with indecently assaulting a young man who had been living at Rannoch, his stately home.
An almost-blanket suppression order was in place preventing the defendant from being identified and until this year he could only be referred to in coverage of his case as “a prominent businessman”.
Wallace photographed before his arrest when he was still referred to as Sir James. Photo / Doug Sherring
The day of his debut in the Auckland District Court he told Herald journalist Anna Leask that any accusation that he sexually assaulted someone was “completely truthless”.
“It’s not going to come to anything,” he stated.
“There is absolutely no substance to it, it is a completely vicious blackmailing effort, which is not going to succeed.
“It’s incredibly unfair. It’s horrible to have this . . . truthless accusation hanging over my head. This could affect my personal reputation and my ability to help the organisations I am involved in.
“It’s a pack of lies.”
He said was confident that the charge “would never come to anything”.
Mika X in court the day he was sentenced after he admitted being part of a plot to bribe one of Wallace's victims to pull his police complaint. Photo / Pool
Wallace’s case took years to resolve with multiple trial dates - one delayed, one aborted and the case then moved to the High Court at Auckland.
After he was sentenced he continued to fight to clear his name, mounting various appeals to keep his identity suppressed and himself out of prison.
But ultimately, prison is where Wallace ended up - and where he belongs for his 16-year period of offending.
A Moment In Crime - The Patron tells the story across three episodes of Wallace’s life, crimes, court case and the impact it had on the victims and wider community.
Part One is now available, with the next two parts coming out on September 28 and October 5. In this episode, you’ll hear from NZ Herald reporter Sam Hurley, who covered the trial across multiple years. In later episodes, we’ll hear from the victims in their own words, and from the arts community on how the crime affected them.
- These episodes of A Moment In Crime deal with sexual offending and are intended for a mature audience.
If you need help, or you are worried about someone else, there is a list of crisis and support agencies at the end of this story.
The first episode of A Moment In Crime was released in September 2019 and focused on the Christchurch terror attack to mark six months since the shootings in two city mosques.
Episodes of A Moment In Crime are usually released monthly and so far Leask has covered 44 cases.
A Moment In Crime has topped the overall and true crime charts on numerous occasions and has listeners in more than 80 countries.
The podcast won a silver award in the true crime category at the inaugural New Zealand Podcast Awards in 2021.
