Husband disputes claims of abuse

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A TRIAL for former men’s counsellor Winton Kere Ropiha, who is charged with domestic offending against his wife of 31 years Jo-Vanna Ropiha, began yesterday in Gisborne District Court.

The couple, who have six children together, separated in June 2018, following an incident in which Mrs Ropiha claims her husband failed to leave their house at her request in line with a pre-existing protection order.

Mrs Ropiha also alleged offending in three other incidents that occurred in the 12 months prior, for which her husband was further charged with three more counts of breaching the protection order (issued in 1998) — but by psychological abuse — and a charge of assaulting her.

In evidence Mrs Ropiha told the court the psychological abuse included her husband verbally abusing her, swearing, and calling her “crazy”. She felt demeaned, belittled, and scared.

Mrs Ropiha described their relationship as one in which she often felt unsupported by Ropiha, including when trying to deal with family matters and at times when she had been in hospital.

The physical assault occurred during a drive home to Gisborne from Hamilton, shortly after she was discharged from Waikato Hospital. He refused to slow down despite her pleas “in Jesus’s name” that she was feeling sick and unable to breathe, Mrs Ropiha said.

She had to open the car door before he would stop. She got out of the vehicle and sat on the ground. He saturated her with water from a drink bottle, hitting her with the tip of it as he did so, and banging on her chest with his fist. He dragged her back to the vehicle and forcibly pushed her inside slamming the door against her legs as he tried to do so.

Another of the incidents occurred about two weeks after a trip to Rarotonga, where they had renewed their wedding vows. During it, Ropiha spat in her face.

Ropiha, 51, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Electing to give evidence, Ropiha confirmed the incidents occurred but denied his wife’s claims of psychological abuse and assault during them. She was lying, he said.

He described their relationship as one in which Mrs Ropiha was volatile and unwilling to let go of grievances, causing ongoing difficulties with friends and family members, including their own children. At times he felt unsafe with, and at risk from, her. They had split up for a time a few years earlier but a family tragedy reunited them.

On the car trip she described, he had slowed down. It was not safe to stop where she wanted and she had tried to take control of the steering wheel then tried to jump out of her door, causing him to stop in darkness at an unsuitable spot on a narrow stretch of road. He splashed her to try and calm her down. He helped her back into the car as soon as possible and stopped further down the road at a safer location, waiting up to 45 minutes for her to calm down.

In a police DVD interview, Ropiha said during the last incident between them he had complied with his wife’s request for him to go and left at the first reasonably practicable time — within about five to 10 minutes.

He denied he only left because she had phoned police.

The jury asked several questions of the court yesterday, including whether they would be hearing evidence from some of the people the Ropihas described as having witnessed the incidents — some of their children, friends, and a man they described as their relationship “champion” (someone they would phone to help de-escalate situations that arose).

Judge Cathcart told the jury they must decide the case on only the evidence presented at trial — that of Mrs Ropiha, her husband, and an officer in charge of the case.

All evidence was completed yesterday. Prosecutor Amanda Bryant for the Crown and Ropiha’s counsel Manaaki Terekia were expected to give their closing addresses this morning.

Judge Warren Cathcart is presiding. (Proceeding)