Police have wrongly accused a man of sexual assault – IPCA

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An independent watchdog has found police improperly charged a man who was falsely accused of attempting to sexually assault a woman who was viewing his rental property.

Just minutes after entering the Auckland rental property in 2019, the woman locked himself in the bathroom and called police, claiming he had tried to attack her.

After questioning the man at Avondale station, police accused him of intending to commit rape and threatened to kill him.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) concluded that officers should have charged the man with a lesser offense and that their investigation was inadequate.

It concluded that the police were right to arrest the man while they investigated the allegations.

The IPCA report said that when police arrived at the house they found the woman was “visibly distressed, crying, shaking and having difficulty controlling her breathing” and that she had an injured and swollen right cheek.

She told officers that she was “very sore, dizzy” and that the man “pushed her onto a bed and asked for sex.”

The woman claimed the man hit and punched her, ripped the buttons off her dress and threatened to kill her if she moved.

She told police she locked herself in the bathroom and called 911.

The IPCA said none of the officers found any injuries on the woman and that the buttons on her dress were undone and undone but not torn off.

Meanwhile, the landlord was arrested for assault and taken to Avondale Police Station for questioning, after which charges were laid.

The IPCA said the accused man raised several things that should have made police doubt the veracity of the woman’s allegations.

The report said the landlord remained calm at the scene and waited outside until police arrived, was happy to speak with police, questioned the timing of the woman’s arrival at the rental property and locked himself in the bathroom and told officers he suspected he was being framed by a person who had previously tried to extort money and property from him and who had been charged with assaulting him.

The IPCA said officers should have decided at that point that the woman’s claims warranted at least further investigation.

It was said that the police could have charged the man with a lesser crime if they evaluated and investigated the information.

Instead, they charged him with threatening to kill and bodily harm with intent to commit rape.

During the subsequent police investigation, the man, his legal representatives and others raised several points that cast doubt on the woman’s allegations.

“The allegations made by Ms Y were very serious, including sexual assault, physical violence and threats of further harm. However, in this case, Mr Z had raised several points which should have cast doubt on the veracity of Ms Y’s allegations,” the IPCA said.

The allegations were inappropriate.

“The police could have charged Mr. Z. with a lesser offense under the Criminal Code, such as assault, in order to impose a bail condition. This would have ensured Ms Y’s safety while allowing more time to assess and investigate the available information.” “

It took police almost a year to verify the timeline of events and extract data from the woman’s phone.

The charges were withdrawn a year later

Shortly before the man’s trial was to begin, more than a year later, in February 2021, police withdrew the charges.

They discovered that there was a connection between the woman and someone suspected of trying to extort property and money from the man she accused.

The IPCA found that if the police officer investigating the woman’s claims had requested more support from senior officers, police would have “concluded much more quickly that her claims were false”.

“The time it took police to establish Ms Y’s claims, the timing issues and the links between Ms Y and the person who may be blackmailing Mr Z,” the IPCA said.

Charges have now been brought against the woman for making false statements.

The IPCA said the man and his family had suffered significant financial, emotional and reputational damage as a result of the charges and the lengthy time it took to withdraw.

Police have acknowledged the man’s suffering, apologized and offered to cover reasonable costs.

Auckland City District Commander Acting Superintendent Sunny Patel said police accepted the IPCA’s findings.

“If police had conducted a more thorough assessment of the evidence at this time, as required by the Attorney General’s prosecution guidelines, we likely would have determined that the woman’s allegations warranted further investigation.”

He said this meant the man’s case had been in court for significantly longer than it should have been.

Police were reviewing the matter internally alongside the IPCA’s separate investigation.

It was treated as a performance issue with the employees involved and clear expectations were set, Patel said.