KEY POINTS:
Victims of historical sex crimes should forget about laying a complaint unless they have strong evidence and someone to back them up, says the woman who claimed Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards and his former police colleagues Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum assaulted her.
The woman told the Daily Post "if it's historical, don't bother". The trio was acquitted earlier this month in the Auckland High Court of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the woman with a bottle in the early 1980s in Rotorua. It was later revealed that Shipton and Schollum are in jail for rape.
The woman said: "You have got to relive the whole thing, and who's to say there's going to be a guilty verdict after it, anyway. It's just a waste of time. Historical [sex] cases must be of one of the hardest things to prove."
The woman said the past few weeks had been a "horrible nightmare".
When she heard the verdicts she had to be supported by two police officers.
"I don't know how long I cried for. It just blew me away. I think I'm still in shock." She had no regrets about speaking to police, but she wished she had complained earlier.
"If something bad happens, go to the police straight away. Don't hold it in. It's no good for you."
In court, the woman had said Schollum had told her many people would suffer if she told.
The complainant praised Operation Austin, the team which investigated her allegations and those of Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas, of which the three men were also acquitted.
She said of the investigating team: "They treated me like a queen ... They have done their job thoroughly."
The complainant believes the jury should have known Shipton and Schollum were already in jail.
While she acknowledged it may have prejudiced their case, it may have helped hers.
In hindsight, she regretted saying in court that she felt sorry Mrs Nicholas lost her case and that she was trying "damn hard to make sure these guys are done".
"I shouldn't have said that but I was angry," she said.
The complainant has met Mrs Nicholas since the trial and is grateful for her support and that of many other New Zealanders.
She hoped the case did not tarnish the reputation of other police officers, saying: "There are some really great cops out there."
Rotorua Detective Sergeant John Wilson, said while he could sympathise with the complainant he urged people to still come forward and make complaints "so we can take the investigation and any prosecution to its natural conclusion whatever that might be".
He said: "We have successfully prosecuted things that have been decades old."
- DAILY POST
