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The lawyer for a pensioner charged with rape and indecent assault has argued that some of the charges should be dropped because they date back to the 1950s.
In what could be New Zealand's most historic sex abuse case, a judge in the High Court at Napier has yet to decide which of the charges should be heard.
The 67-year-old Napier man, whose name is suppressed, is facing 17 charges, the oldest dating back to July 1954, the Dominion Post reported. Charges include rape, attempted rape, indecent assault, unlawful sexual connection and indecent assault.
The six alleged victims were aged between four and 13 at the time of the offending.
The man's lawyer, Jonathan Krebs, requested a stay on the 10 oldest charges yesterday. He said the victims were very young at the time of the alleged offences, and given the "antiquity" of the alleged offending, he questioned whether a fair trial was possible.
"The court cannot have confidence in the evidence of these witnesses."
Mr Krebs said he had found no records of historic sex charges dated back as far as these.
Justice Hugh Williams said the allegations were of considerable antiquity, but he had heard of others dating back to the 1950s.
Mr Krebs also said that if the judge felt the older charges should go to trial, they should not be heard at the same time. If all were heard together the later charges would be coloured by the allegations in the more historic charges, he said.
Crown prosecutor Clayton Walker said the allegations were not too old to be heard. He said siblings of the children had witnessed some of the alleged offending, and added that the three alleged victims and their five siblings were prepared to take the stand.
- NZPA
