Friday, March 25, 2005

name suppression



I wanted to make some comment on the "prominent New Zealander" who appeared in the Christchurch District Court on a charge of indecently assaulting a girl aged under 12 in 2002.

I know this man.

I can't reveal who he is as his name has been suppressed. I don`t want anyone commenting on this blog identifying this man, or the person he allegedly abused either. Respect the court order, he has not been convicted, just charged.

I have spoken to this man many times, particularly near the time of the alleged assault. His name has been suppressed, as has his former and current occupations, (for obvious reasons, for those of you who know who this man is). Yet the suppression order was to protect the person he abused, and his family, rather than himself, according to the judge. Yet what will happen if this man is found guilty? Will there be a suppression order to protect his family or the persons involved or will the public interest outweigh that? If this man is innocent, his name will be mud if the court had not have demanded name suppression this week.

This is another case of a suppression order given to another prominent New Zealander. In a small country like New Zealand, name suppression is meaningless for high-profile people. Too many people use email and telephone calls to nname these people. In the case of email, this is actually contempt of court. It is also potentially defamatory if this man did not do the alleged crime.

There is also no excuse for beating up a person accused of a crime. This man has a suspected broken jaw. I will be following this case if it goes to trial and reporting what I am allowed to on this blog. If he is found guilty, there will be a bit said on this blog about the man.

I hope this does not end up being a trial by media. If this man is found guilty, do you think the court should lift the suppression order?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also know the accused man. Despite that, yes, I think name suppression should be lifted if he is found guilty. Bu then, I think child molesters should be executed, whether they are my friends or not.

Anonymous said...

If he is found guilty then enough detail should remain suppressed so that the child's identity is protected.

That may be possible by suppressing the relationship between the two, or the nature of the offending, or some other details. However if the child's identity could only be protected by maintaining name suppression, then that should be done.