Rape accused faces 11 charges

Trevor Eagle entered no plea when he appeared in court yesterday on 11 charges relating to the rape of a young woman in a remote Hawkes Bay forest. Picture / Alan Gibson

Dressed in a boiler suit, the sleeves rolled up to reveal tattoos on both forearms, 31-year-old Trevor Eagle stood in the dock of Napier's District Court yesterday to face 11 charges relating to the alleged rape of a 24-year-old woman.

The crime - committed in a remote Hawkes Bay forest over the course of more than a day - has shocked the community. It began with the knifepoint abduction of the woman from inside her own home.

The charges included one each of abduction, rape, indecent assault, aggravated burglary, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, and six of sexual violation.

Eagle was arrested on Thursday morning between Whakatane and Opotiki.

It seemed nobody related to the victim had turned up to witness the Napier man's two-minute court appearance, although the man who headed this week's inquiry, Detective Sergeant Mike Foster, was present. Eagle's only apparent support came from a teenage niece and her friend.

Eagle entered no plea.

Judge Tony Ardeane remanded him in custody until next Wednesday. Eagle did not seek bail.

Short in stature and sporting a goatee beard, the pot-bellied unemployed man stood passively in the dock.

He had previously indicated to police that he did not want legal representation, but duty solicitor Derek Quilliam met Eagle minutes before he was escorted in to the courtroom.

"At the moment he is perhaps not thinking as clearly as he might," Mr Quilliam said outside court afterwards.

"He's very depressed and downcast, feeling sorry for himself. I don't know, but it seems he's coming off some kind of drug-induced psychosis. I understand he's taken P."

Mr Quilliam declined to speculate on whether his client wanted to plead guilty to the charges, adding that he had not had the chance to discuss any detail of the allegations with him. Earlier, a teenage girl and her friend waited for her arrested uncle to show up at court.

She said she first heard about the events of this week on television on Thursday night, and nearly "smashed" the screen. Eagle had been staying with her, she said.

She stood in defence of her uncle, and grew angry and tearful when journalists surrounded the police car in which he was brought to the court.

Outside the court, Beryl Moana, told the Weekend Herald her daughter, Lydia, had split up with Eagle about two weeks ago, after a four-year relationship. She said Eagle was upset that her daughter had left him.

Detective Sergeant Foster said the victim of this week's crime did not wish to make any comment until the case against Eagle was over.