Prisoner in police station claims cleaner raped her

A woman who claims she was raped by a cleaner at the Auckland central police station was being held in the police cells because of prison overcrowding, a court heard yesterday.

The Auckland District Court heard yesterday the female remand prisoner was allegedly raped on the morning of October 5, 2004.

She was meant to be held at Mt Eden Women's Prison but because of overcrowding she was one of three women being held at the police station at the time.

The woman alleges that a man who worked for a cleaning company contracted by the police raped and sexually violated her.

In court yesterday the man was granted name suppression to be continued until the end of the trial. Judge Christopher Field also agreed to suppress the reason he granted the name suppression.

However, he said the issue of name suppression would have to be discussed at the end of the trial.

There was public interest in the case given the woman was a remand prisoner at a time when overcrowding meant prisoners were being held at police stations and the offence was alleged to have occurred at the station.

The court heard the woman had come to the station from Whangarei and wanted to be sent to Mt Eden Women's Prison.

Police day watch-house keeper Janet Briggs told the court she started work about 8.15am and was checking the cells when she heard the woman call out "Miss".

Ms Briggs went to the cell, found the light turned off and the woman sitting on the bed with knees hugged to her chest surrounded by blankets.

"She said 'I've been raped. That man came in here and raped me. It's true, I'm not lying."

Under cross-examination by the man's lawyer Maria Pecotic, Ms Briggs said she had been employed to help look after the female remand prisoners because of the extra workload of remand prisoners stemming from overcrowded prisons.

She said her sergeant had told her when she started her shift she thought the woman may need medication and was yelling and banging in the cells because she wanted to go to Mt Eden Women's Prison.

Her sergeant told her the woman should not be at the police station and should have been at Mt Eden.