Faith healer said massages were on God’s instruction, but jury told they were sexually motivated

Nga Teina is on trial at the Napier District Court. File photo / Belinda Feek

A faith healer said he was acting on God’s instructions when he gave women massages to treat illness, but a prosecutor alleges his motivation was sexual rather than spiritual.

Nga Teiri, also known as Nga Teina, 67, is facing a jury trial in the Napier District Court on 16 charges of indecent assault.

Crown prosecutor Michael Blaschke said the charges, which date back to events in 2019, involved several Pasifika women in Hawke’s Bay and Waikato.

He said Teiri gave massages to people in the Cook Islands community in the North Island, saying he could cure sickness and that he was acting on God’s instructions.

However, the Crown case was that, when he massaged some of the women, he was sexually motivated, touching them on their breasts or inner thighs.

“A massage is not indecent on its own,” Blaschke said. “It is the sexual nature of the touching that cancelled out the consent of the complainants.”

The 16 charges involve several women, some of whom are connected to more than one charge. Some of the charges are representative, meaning they cover several alleged incidents within certain dates.

The women’s ages vary. One is in her 30s, but most are middle-aged or older.

The court was told that Teiri’s treatment involved an “unblocking” procedure which he claimed would restore circulation to treat illnesses such as cancer.

Teiri is representing himself but counsel Shannon Withers and Vernon Tava have been appointed by the court to assist in his defence.

Withers told the jury of eight women and four men that all the touching was consented to at the time it happened.

Teiri “honestly believed” the patients had consented to be touched and was not aware the touching could be considered inappropriate.

“Within his community, he was known for his healing power,” Withers said.

Because they are complainants in a case of alleged sexual offending, the women’s identities are automatically suppressed.

Two of the complainants, who are related, gave evidence on Wednesday, describing massages in which they were asked to strip to their underwear before Teiri rubbed them down their bodies and along their legs, including on their breasts.

One of them said this made her feel “really uncomfortable”.

After several members of the family had “unblockings”, the woman said that, at her final session, Teiri told her she was beautiful. He said this while he was massaging her.

She said she closed her legs when he rubbed between her thighs and crossed her arms when he returned to her breasts. He told her to relax. She got up and put her clothes on.

However, in response to questions from Withers, the woman agreed that, until the final time, the “unblocking” sessions had helped her feel better.

She agreed that Teiri tended to speak in a “spiritual way”.

In response to questions from Tava, the other woman agreed that she had returned to have a total of four sessions from Teiri and that her husband had also received his “unblocking” procedure.

Tava suggested to her that it was only later that she thought that what he had done wasn’t right, and that was because he had not healed what he said he would heal.

The trial before Judge Gordon Matenga is continuing.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.