A prominent Northland leader is standing trial charged with six counts of indecent assault on a teenage girl and three of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Raniera (Sonny) Tau, 69, has pleaded not guilty in the Whangārei District Court before Judge John McDonald and a jury of eight women and four men to six counts of indecently assaulting a female over the age of 16 and three of attempting to pervert the course of justice by offering the girl money to settle the matter out of court.
The alleged indecent assault took place at Rangi Pt, in the Far North on January 7, 2017, while the three other charges were allegedly committed between that date and October 9, 2019 in Whangārei, when it's alleged Tau on three occasions offered the girl money to settle the matter out of court.
The trial is expected to last the week.
Tau was chairman of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi for more than a decade until the stepped down in 2019.
