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The woman who accused an officer of raping her in the Kaitaia police station in 1988 says she never wanted the case reopened and believes it went ahead only because of political pressure from Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Former Kaitaia constable Tim Ogle was acquitted of rape in the Auckland District Court this week, but the woman, who has name suppression, told the Weekend Herald she never wanted the court case in the first place.
Her original complaint was investigated and dismissed in 1988 with the file reviewed by the acting commissioner. She also failed in an attempt to sue for damages in a civil case in 1994.
When the Louise Nicholas rape claims broke in February 2004 the woman wrote to Helen Clark with her accusations and called for a public inquiry into police culture.
The Prime Minister said at the time the woman's case "made her hair stand on end" and was the "final straw" that led to the Government setting up a commission of inquiry.
The woman, who is in her 60s, said once the commission was set up, she would have been happy with telling her story to it, rather than facing the trauma of a court case.
There was no new evidence and she did not make a new formal complaint.
She was then visited by three senior police officers in March 2004 who told her they would be investigating. Charges were laid that year.
"We fought it right from the start. The last thing I wanted was a rape trial. I knew it would fail, the standard of proof is too high. I could have had my concerns and experience listened to perfectly well by the commission.
"I am not a vindictive cow who waited for 16 years and then popped him again."
The woman said she had gone to court in the interests of seeing justice served but agreed with Mr Ogle's lawyer, Gary Gotlieb, that the case was only reopened because of the political pressure on the police following Helen Clark's "hairs on end" statement.
"I would like to speak to Helen Clark about what she put me through. I'm pretty old to be on the stand describing acts of sexual violation."
A criminal investigation of her allegations had been a "clever move" because it meant the matters were before the court and could not be raised at the commission of inquiry.
The commission was eventually put on hold while criminal proceedings in her case and others went through the court system.
Mr Ogle admitted having sex with the woman but said it was consensual. A jury took just under five hours to clear him.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said she had referred the woman's letter to the Crown Law Office at the time and left the matter there.
A police spokeswoman said when the woman came forward a review was conducted by Detective Superintendent Malcolm Burgess, who recommended further investigation. There was no direction from the Prime Minister's Office. The woman was fully consulted but it was ultimately a police decision to prosecute.
