PR chief's abuse charge dropped

Sarah Olliver.

Police have dropped court action against an Auckland public relations agency chief who was accused of physically abusing her property developer former husband.

Sarah Patricia Olliver, 44, managing director of markomPR, was charged in March with one count of abusing Greg Olliver while a protection order was in force against her.

Ms Olliver, aka Sarah Sparks, had pleaded not guilty and was to have defended the charge, but it was withdrawn in the Auckland District Court on Friday.

In a statement, she said she had pleaded not guilty because she did not consider she had committed an offence.

She said she was arrested after police were called to an argument she was having with Mr Olliver at her office. They had "little choice" but to arrest her because of the temporary protection order.

Ms Olliver said the order was taken out in August last year without her knowledge and dropped by consent eight days after her arrest.

She said she understood police reviewed their file and considered other material, such as defence witness statements, before deciding the prosecution should be withdrawn.

"I am grateful for the reasonable and considered approach now taken by police ... I always place my trust in the truth and am glad common sense and reason have prevailed," Ms Olliver's statement says.

She declined to comment further when approached at a St Heliers property last night.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms Olliver, who uses the name Sparks in her professional life, founded markomPR in December 2000.

Her former husband has been a prominent Auckland property developer and at one stage his fortune was believed to be about $250 million.