The Green Party vote to use 'waka-jumping' legislation to oust Darleen Tana from Parliament and Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar killed. Video / NZ Herald / Getty / AFP
The abuse in care trial for three former staff members at a South Auckland boys’ home was aborted after one day.
Judge Yelena Yelavich dismissed 11 of the 31 charges after Crown prosecutors declined to offer evidence.
A new trial is expected next week.
The abuse in care trial for three former staff members at a South Auckland boys’ home has been aborted after just one day of evidence.
Manukau District Court Judge Yelena Yelavich announced the decision to jurors today after Crown prosecutors declined to offer evidence for 11 of 31 charges.
“As a result, I have granted an application to dismiss those charges,” the judge told the group. “In light of that decision, I have decided the trial cannot continue before the 12 of you.
“I know this has been a long week for all of you, but this sometimes happens in trials.”
A new jury is expected to be selected next week for the 20 remaining charges. It is anticipated the new trial will last six weeks and focus on the allegations of nine complainants. The aborted trial had focused on 10.
Crown prosecutor Charlie Piho. Photo / Michael Craig
Two women and two men were arrested last year following Operation Annalise, a two-year police investigation into the Tirohonga Hou Mo Nga Rangatahi Charitable Trust that was prompted by a referral from Oranga Tamariki.
The trust housed troubled youths, often by court order. It operated for some time out of a building at the former Kingseat psychiatric hospital - a complex also shared by haunted house attraction Spookers - before moving to a home in nearby Pukekohe.
None of the four who were arrested, including a woman who is not currently on trial, can be named for legal reasons.
During a two-hour opening address yesterday, prosecutor Charlie Piho said the now-adult men had made accusations against the defendants after police went about finding and interviewing each child who had stayed at the home.
The investigation was prompted by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
Defence lawyer Oliver Troon, standing, and James Olsen are representing a former staffer at the Tirohonga Hou Mo Nga Rangatahi Charitable Trust boys' home in South Auckland. Three people have been accused in Manukau District Court of abusing children who resided at the home. Photo / Michael Craig
The complainants were between the ages of 6 and 17 at the time of the alleged offending. Among the allegations described to authorities were sexual abuse, children being tied up and left for hours, residents being forced to fight one another and on one occasion a 14-year-old being held down and urinated on for refusing to engage in sexual activity with a female staffer.
Defence lawyers for the three defendants have adamantly denied all charges, describing the accusers as having either suffered distorted childhood memories or having outright lied.
None of the complainants had yet given evidence when the trial was aborted.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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