The nearly three week trial was held in the Auckland District Court. Photo / File
The nearly three week trial was held in the Auckland District Court. Photo / File
A police officer accused of raping a colleague has been found guilty but in a courtroom outburst has continued to profess his innocence.
The cop had been on trial for the past two weeks charged with indecently assaulting and sexual violating his female workmate at a Kerikeri motel during the early hours of February 5 last year.
The officer, who has interim name suppression, was part of a group of police deployed to help police the 2019 Waitangi Day events at the Treaty Grounds.
As the unanimous guilty verdicts were read by the foreman this afternoon the officer's family, seated in the back of the Auckland courtroom, broke down in tears.
The policeman briefly left the court as Judge Evangelos Thomas spoke to the jury, but when he returned to learn of his sentencing date he lashed out.
The officer was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.
"We need to get some sort of a sense of where this came from, was this a one off act of utter stupidity or was this always going to happen, or was this going to happen again?" Judge Thomas said, when earlier explaining the sentencing process to the jury.
"There will be a lot of people, of course, who will be affected by this case ... He will receive a term of imprisonment for this serious offending. The question, for us, will be to try and determine what else can be done.
"And when he's eventually released, that he too is able to function again properly [in society]."
The officer and his lawyer, Paul Borich QC, claimed any sexual contact with the victim was consensual and a "pre-arranged hook-up".
However, Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney said the accused "helped himself" to his colleague as she lay sleeping after earlier indecently assaulting her when the two were alone.
Paul Borich QC, who is representing the accused officer, argued any sexual activity was consensual. Photo / Doug Sherring
During the trial, the victim said she woke in her dark motel room to pain.
She then reached for her phone and began recording a video. A one minute and 50 second interaction was recorded between her and the accused.
"I've denied you earlier, and I've woken up to you ****ing me," she can be heard crying.
CCTV footage also showed the guilty officer "creeping" across the motel courtyard at 2.34am and slowly opening the ranch slider door of his victim's room.
More CCTV footage from the night - played to the court - also revealed lewd behaviour by several cops staying at the motel, including a senior sergeant exposing himself and a drinking game using a hollowed-out police baton.
The now guilty officer was earlier stood down after the allegations emerged and a separate employment investigation was conducted, Auckland's Detective Superintendent Dave Lynch has said.
Northland's Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston also told the court the employment investigations into some of the other officers at the motel have concluded.
"The conduct of some of the people involved fell well short of expectations," he said.
In a statement today, Superintendent Naila Hassan said those officers have also been disciplined.
"The behaviour displayed by some staff on this occasion was completely unacceptable, disappointing and to say it was out of line with our values would be an understatement," Hassan said.
"Four staff were identified as having behaved in a way that breached our code of conduct. Three of them were dealt with within our disciplinary process and remain on active duty."
One officer, Hassan said, is "no longer working for the New Zealand Police".
"We cannot comment further on those matters as they are internal and New Zealand Police like any other employer has privacy obligations which we must adhere to."
Hassan also said while the judicial process is not yet complete police are unable to specifically comment further on this court case.
But she said police did want to acknowledge the strength of the victim over the last year and will continue to provide support to her as best as possible.
"I would like to thank the investigation team for their hard work, dedication and professionalism over the past 12 months."
An application to continue the guilty officer's interim name suppression was declined by Judge Thomas but the decision has been appealed and suppression will continue until the challenge can be determined.
