Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

'We trust the police': Woman denies inviting top cop into her home before alleged sex assault

By Chelsea Boyle
Chelsea Boyle is a reporter for the New Zealand Herald·NZ Herald·
13 Feb, 2019 05:05 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Kevin Burke stands in the dock, accused of sex crimes. Photo / Dean Purcell

Kevin Burke stands in the dock, accused of sex crimes. Photo / Dean Purcell

A woman accusing top cop Kevin Stephen Burke of sexual assault denies inviting him to her home to drink and wanting him to stay the night.

Two women have alleged Burke, a detective inspector based in Northland, sexually assaulted them.

Burke denies the two charges of indecent assault and two of unlawful sexual connection.

The first complainant continued to give evidence in the High Court at Auckland after earlier today denying being romantically involved with a conman Burke was investigating.

Burke's lawyer Arthur Fairley asked if she invited Burke to her home and asked him to bring wine.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"No, I did not… I would never ask somebody to bring wine," she said.

Fairley asked if Burke appeared to be breaking any "rules".

His appearance seemed "very, very inappropriate", she said, but she believed he was there to discuss the fraudster she had reported to Orewa police weeks prior.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Why didn't you send him on his way… being a strong-minded woman?" Fairley asked.

The woman, whose name is suppressed under law, asked if she was supposed to report him to police.

"Well, why didn't you?" Fairley said.

The woman wondered what she was supposed to tell police - that a police officer had brought her beer and wine?

Discover more

New Zealand

High-ranking police officer on trial for sexual assault

11 Feb 01:58 AM
New Zealand|crime

'He was my hero': Second woman accuses Detective Inspector Kevin Burke

14 Feb 04:30 AM

"Well, hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it?" she said.

Fairley asked if she was comfortable having a near-stranger in her house.

"This is a police officer, this is not somebody off the street," she replied.

"He's a police officer. We trust the police."

Yesterday, the woman alleged Burke arrived at her Auckland home uninvited in 2002, weeks after she reported information to police.

The court heard he drank a box of beers he had brought to her house.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She offered him something to eat and made up the spare bedroom because she was concerned about his ability to drive safely, she previously told the court.

"I have never seen someone drink so much," she said today.

But she alleges Burke instead pushed her to the floor and sexually assaulted her.

"I kept trying to push back. It just happened so quickly," she said.

The trial before Justice Sarah Katz is set down for two weeks and the second complainant is scheduled to give evidence tomorrow.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Three bidders confirmed for Northland Expressway PPP

21 Jun 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

'I wouldn't wish it on anyone': Why are victims having to wait until 2027 for justice?

21 Jun 01:00 AM
Premium
Opinion

Opinion: Endless tourist tours are our modern purgatory

20 Jun 05:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Three bidders confirmed for Northland Expressway PPP

Three bidders confirmed for Northland Expressway PPP

21 Jun 05:00 PM

Initial construction work on the next section is set to begin by the end of next year.

'I wouldn't wish it on anyone': Why are victims having to wait until 2027 for justice?

'I wouldn't wish it on anyone': Why are victims having to wait until 2027 for justice?

21 Jun 01:00 AM
Premium
Opinion: Endless tourist tours are our modern purgatory

Opinion: Endless tourist tours are our modern purgatory

20 Jun 05:00 PM
Why kiwi deaths on roads highlight a conservation success story

Why kiwi deaths on roads highlight a conservation success story

20 Jun 02:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP