A trial in Northland has concluded with the conviction of Raniera Tau, also known as Sonny Tau, a former Ngāpuhi leader.
Tau was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault on a girl over 16 and one count of perverting the course of justice following a week-long trial at the Whangārei District Court.
He was found not guilty on two charges of indecent assault and two further charges of perverting the course of justice were withdrawn.
The charges stemmed from an incident in early 2017 when Tau, then chairman of Te Rūnanga ā Iwi ō Ngāpuhi, invited the girl on a fishing trip, which led to an overnight stay at a remote bach. After alleging the tide was too high to return home, he committed several acts of indecent assault, which the girl agreed to out of fear, as she later explained in her police interview.
In the aftermath, Tau attempted to settle the matter privately, offering $20,000 to the girl’s family, which was rejected with a counter-offer of $120,000 contingent on him confessing to his wife.
The girl’s father testified about her changed behaviour post-incident and Tau’s admission to some involvement.
After four hours of deliberation the jury convicted Tau.
He was remanded into custody, with sentencing scheduled for February 19.
