Police are persevering with with a prosecution towards the girl who accused former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming of sexual offending in relation to costs of harassing one other police officer and his spouse.
A damning report launched final month by the Impartial Police Conduct Authority discovered critical misconduct on the highest ranges, together with former Commissioner Andrew Coster, over how police responded to the allegations.
The lady was charged in Could final yr with inflicting hurt by posting digital communication in relation to over 300 emails she allegedly despatched to McSkimming’s work e-mail tackle between December 2023 and April 2024.
The cost towards the girl was withdrawn within the Wellington District Courtroom in September as a result of McSkimming didn’t want to give proof. However the lady stays earlier than the courtroom on two costs of inflicting hurt by posting a digital communication in relation to a different police officer and his spouse.
On Friday, the case was known as within the Wellington District Courtroom earlier than Choose John Walker.
The lady’s lawyer, Steven Lack, informed the courtroom he had made a request for each the police and the Crown to rethink whether or not it was within the public curiosity to proceed prosecution.
He stated it had not been doable to resolve the case by way of a diversion scheme and that an software had been made to dismiss the fees on the grounds that the continued prosecution was “an abuse of course of”.
Lack submitted the check was the adequacy of the investigation into McSkimming following her complaints and the investigations into her, each of which had been topic to criticism by the IPCA.
He stated a number of cops had been approached by a non-public investigator who had declined to be interviewed.
Choose Walker continued all suppression orders in relation to the case.
The case will probably be known as once more on 22 December to type a callover date for subsequent yr to listen to the dismissal software.
RNZ earlier approached police for touch upon Wednesday on whether or not they had any touch upon costs she nonetheless confronted and whether or not police would now drop them.
In response, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers stated the matter was earlier than the courtroom and police had instructed a senior felony barrister within the continuing.
“It could be inappropriate for me to remark concerning the deserves, together with public curiosity, of any case that’s earlier than the courtroom.
“Nevertheless, what I’ve executed and what I can say is, that I’ve assured myself that correct course of has been adopted in bringing this case.”
Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson stated Ms Z was the defendant in a prosecution within the District Courtroom.
“In these circumstances it’s not acceptable to remark publicly on the deserves of the prosecution, together with the general public curiosity.”
In an earlier assertion to RNZ Steven Lack, stated police “failed my shopper”.
“Over a interval of years, she tried to report allegations of great bodily, psychological and sexual offending by Mr McSkimming, then one of the senior Police Officers within the nation. As an alternative of being heard, she was dismissed and in the end prosecuted for talking out and elevating her considerations.
“At each stage, the Police had the chance to have interaction along with her, to correctly assess what she was saying, and to analyze her allegations. They might have seen her as a traumatised sufferer. They selected to not. They accepted Mr McSkimming’s denials with out significant inquiry and positioned the total weight of the felony justice system on my shopper for greater than a yr till the cost towards her was withdrawn. Understandably this has had a devastating influence on her.
“The best way her complaints have been dealt with ought to alarm all New Zealanders. It means that the Police have been extra targeted on defending Mr McSkimming’s profession and development than on correctly assessing critical allegations of offending towards him.”
Lack stated the police have been an organisation “entrusted by the neighborhood to guard and serve”.
“In my shopper’s case, they did neither.”
