Louise Nicholas shocked by cop's prison release

The release on parole of a former police officer jailed over his handling of a police sex case has taken the woman at the centre of the case by surprise.

Former Rotorua CIB head John Dewar was jailed for 4 1/2 years in October 2007 over his handling of sexual assault allegations in the 1990s made by Louise Nicholas against police officers.

He has been released on parole after serving 19 months of his sentence and Ms Nicholas said she was shocked at hearing the news and would have liked the chance to oppose his release if the Parole Board had given her the chance, the Herald on Sunday reported.

"I thought it was my right," she said.

Between 1993 and 1995, Dewar investigated complaints of sexual assaults by police officers including Clint Rickards, Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton.

Nicholas made the sexual misconduct allegations public in 2004 and at a later trial the three men were cleared of the charges.

However, Schollum and Shipton were at the time already in prison on separate sexual offending charges.

Dewar was convicted on four charges of wilfully attempting to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice in the investigation of the allegations.

The Parole Board said Dewar's had behaved well in prison and was unlikely to reoffend.

- NZPA