KEY POINTS:
A nurse has escaped censure for allegedly having sex with an insane killer in her care at a maximum-security psychiatric ward.
The nurse was accused of sneaking him away from the Mason Clinic in Mt Albert to have sex either at her home or in toilets at the
nearby Unitec polytechnic, Pt Chevalier library and McDonald's in 2004.
Yesterday, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal found her not guilty of a charge of professional misconduct for the sexual relationship, saying that while it suspected it, there was not enough proof.
The tribunal found her guilty of a charge of professional misconduct for providing the killer with a cellphone, taking him to her home and ignoring an escape bid by another patient.
The nurse has interim name suppression. The killer also has name suppression, with no details of his killing allowed, except that he was found not guilty of murder on the grounds of insanity.
The tribunal's ruling shows the sexual allegations came down to a "he says, she says" argument.
The killer told the tribunal how they first had sex after taking a taxi to her home when they were supposed to be on day leave seeing the movie Troy.
He described other occasions they would have sex at a place near Pt Chevalier when he was on "ground leave" from the clinic.
The nurse denied this, saying she took the killer to her home once while on day leave because she was menstruating heavily and needed to change.
The nurse used expert evidence from a Maori health worker that, from a "Maori cultural perspective", it was not acceptable to continue her daily tasks without attending to her personal hygiene needs.
The tribunal's ruling said it had reservations about this explanation. It said the sexual allegations were grave, and "the greater the gravity of the allegation, the higher the standard of proof required".
"While the tribunal may suspect there was a sexual relationship, the tribunal's suspicion will not suffice," the ruling said.
The tribunal said the other charge of professional misconduct was proven by the discovery of the cellphone in the killer's room, with text messages from the nurse such as "I love you" on it.
The messages also included one where the killer told her of a possible escape bid by another dangerous patient.
She did not tell other staff.
The nurse's penalty could include losing her registration, a fine of up to $30,000 and an order to pay costs.
