Dunne-Powell on Veitch: Innocent people don't plead guilty

Kristin Dunne-Powell leaves court with her husband Morgan Powell yesterday after telling a judge how Tony Veitch's assault has changed her life. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

HER STORY:

Kristin Dunne-Powell says agreeing to a plea bargain that resulted in her former partner, television personality Tony Veitch, pleading guilty to the most serious of the seven charges in exchange for evidence not being brought in the others was a difficult decision.

"Agreeing to the plea bargain was a real compromise," she told the Herald yesterday. "But it was thought the best outcome for both parties."

Veitch, 35, was fined $10,000, placed on supervision for nine months and ordered to do 300 hours of community work after pleading guilty in Auckland District Court to injuring Ms Dunne-Powell with reckless disregard for her safety.

Six other charges of assault were dismissed when the Crown offered no evidence.

Ms Dunne-Powell said there was an imbalance of power in her on-again off-again relationship with the sports presenter and she felt powerless during the eight months since the story became public.

She had remained silent despite what seemed to her a media campaign giving a false impression of her.

Her side of the story had not been heard, she said.

Their relationship was characterised by Veitch's need for power and control, and influenced by his mood swings from highs to lows. There was the energetic, bubbly Tony Veitch the public saw and a private one who suffered crises of confidence, she said.

Her own confidence was affected and so was her ability to quit the relationship, until after she was hospitalised with a broken back.

Of the decision not to pursue the other charges, she said: "When I thought about it, it was much more powerful to me that he admits being guilty of domestic violence. Much more powerful than 12 strangers on a jury who weren't there."

She hoped that after Veitch's guilty plea to the highest charge, "people would realise that innocent people don't plead guilty".

"Police didn't lay these seven charges willy nilly. They did a very thorough investigation and there is file on file on file of documents relating to them."

She says the charges that were laid related to incidents where she was able to indicate a date when they occurred.

She said "the one-sided" media coverage had effectively put the victim on trial in the public eye.