Police watchdog determines that police wrongly charged a landlord after a woman falsely accused him of attempting to sexually assault her at his Auckland rental property in 2019.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) criticised the investigation and concluded that officers should have filed lesser charges while investigating the claims further.
After the woman locked herself in the bathroom and called the police, she claimed the landlord had tried to rape her and threatened to kill her. Police arrived to find her visibly distressed and alleging bruising and swelling, while her dress appeared disheveled. Based on her allegations, officers arrested the man and charged him with assault with intent to commit rape and threatening to kill.
The IPCA report highlighted several inconsistencies and potential red flags that police should have noticed. The landlord calmly waited outside for officers to arrive, questioned the woman’s sudden arrival, and suspected he was being framed by someone previously charged with attempting to extort him.
Despite these concerns and points raised by the man and his legal team, police pursued the charges without conducting a comprehensive review. They failed to investigate connections between the woman and the individual suspected of trying to extort the landlord. Almost a year later, just before trial, police withdrew the charges after confirming a link between the woman and the extortion suspect.
Acting Superintendent Sunny Patel acknowledged police errors and apologised for the delays that caused undue financial, emotional, and reputational harm to the man and his family. Police accepted the IPCA’s findings and reviewed their procedures, emphasising the importance of following prosecution guidelines and conducting ‘thorough investigations in the future.’
I hope he sues them….
Many years ago a similar thing happened to me. After my very open and honest interview, I was arrested and bailed. It was found the officer in charge altered statements, had the complainant sign them again. It still went to trial. The large courtroom was packed. With a very skilled lawyer, he managed to get the police to confirm what he did. The jury found me not guilty within 15 minutes. Straight after the verdict was read, the jury came up to me. The men shook my hand, some of the women hugged me. It cost me thousands and thousands. I was working full-time but I still had to borrow money from family. I lost my then job because I could not perform well. Thankfully, I had my mother and siblings by my side. Many years later, when I told a friend, he said it happened to him too. Nothing ever happened to the woman, nothing ever happened to the policeman. It is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a man. At that time I was contemplating ending my life. I don’t think too much about it these days however I know it would come up in a police check. It has stopped me for applying for some jobs. When is this nation going to address the injustice and hatred towards men. When the evidence is clear, why is there no law to automatically charge the person making the false complaint and the police. When it comes time for me to died and if they say I have to go to purgatory, I will say no thanks, I’ve done mine. One final thought before I click post, If the police are capable for not charging anyone for the vaccine deaths, they are capable of any crime.
Its always the way mate, the innocent pay the greatest price under NZ’s so called “justice system”………