A convicted murderer has been paid compensation after papers printed stories in which he was accused of being a rapist.
Andrew Ronald MacMillan was jailed for life for the 1988 slaying of Jayne Maree McLellan, 17, in Dunedin.
The attack left Ms McLellan nearly naked, with extensive stab
wounds, fractures to her face, stones in her windpipe to stop her screaming, and with one nipple nearly bitten off, but MacMillan, who pleaded guilty to murder, was not charged with rape.
In 2004, Fairfax Media published stories describing MacMillan as a convicted rapist when news broke he had won a case before the Human Rights Review Tribunal, which awarded him $1200 for "hurt feelings" after a letter claiming he had introduced a teenage girl to "perverted sex" was not released to him.
The incident was alleged to have taken place when MacMillan was on temporary release from prison in 2000.
He sued Fairfax, publisher of The Press and The Dominion Post, for defamation and sought punitive damages when the company refused to print a correction and apology for describing him as a rapist.
A spokesman for Fairfax told The Press that after MacMillan was granted legal aid by the Legal Services Agency (LSA), the company chose to settle rather than take the case to trial.
The settlement included publication of a correction, payment of MacMillan's costs, and an undisclosed sum.
The decision to settle was on economic grounds because the company faced a "six-figure" bill to defend the case and, even if successful, believed it would be difficult to recover its costs from either MacMillan or the LSA, the spokesman said.
Pamela Wadsworth, the mother of the murdered girl, said MacMillan's award was "downright disgusting".
Her life since the murder had been "sheer hell". "I screamed in my sleep every night for 10 years," she said.
LSA grants manager Robyn Nicholas defended its decision to grant legal aid, saying it was vindicated by Fairfax's decision to settle.
The LSA spent $9225 in legal aid for MacMillan's claim, which was fully repaid in the settlement.
- NZPA
