In an unforeseen turn of events, a pivotal High Court trial was abruptly halted 45 minutes into deliberations, due to irreconcilable differences arising amongst the jury members. This interruption followed a week-long trial involving serious charges against a Far North male, whose proceedings had taken place at the High Court in Whangārei.
The defendant, a man whose identity is withheld in order to shield his niece and daughter, appeared in court defending a string of allegations. The charges he faced included five counts of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, six counts of rape, an indecent act on a child under 12, and a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The accused, who fathered two children with the woman he allegedly assaulted, has been dealing with these charges since their filing in 2020.
Justice Kiri Tahana presided over the trial which saw closing arguments presented on the previous Friday, followed by a weekend adjournment before resuming with a summary early Monday. When deliberations commenced at midday, it wasn’t long before it was revealed that internal schisms had emerged among the jury.
The trial had featured testimonial evidence from various witnesses, composed of the assaulted woman, her daughter, the defendant, and his wife. However, the child victim found it challenging to articulate her experiences and long-term memory loss further hindered her ability to testify.
The allegations against the defendant detailed how the abuse originally began during the woman’s adolescent years when she arrived in New Zealand for a holiday. She stated that during a family trip to Scotts Point, the man, who happened to be her uncle, sexually assaulted her.
She further reported that he subsequently raped her in a Kaiwaka hotel while en route to the airport. After persuading her to revisit his isolated New Zealand farm with the prospect of a job, the assault continued.
As per the Crown prosecutor, the woman was violated repeatedly over two decades in the residence they shared and during their work together on his farm. Furthermore, the accused allegedly arranged her marriage to an acquaintance, post which the new husband and the uncle would alternate in assaulting her. The husband is now deceased.
The abrupt end of the trial necessitates the High Court to establish a fresh trial date. As of now, High Court trial dates in Whangārei are scheduled up until mid-2025 only, which might contribute to longer delays.