Controversial Ngāpuhi leader Sonny Tau jailed after seven-year indecency case

Raniera Tau at his trial in the Whangārei District Court in December 2024. Photo / NZME

• Ngāpuhi leader Raniera (Sonny) Tau was jailed for indecent assault after a seven-year legal battle.
• The victim, assaulted at age 16, endured community backlash and rejected a $20,000 offer.
• Judge Taryn Bayley sentenced Tau to three years and seven months and cited his previous convictions.

WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault and may be upsetting to some readers.

A Ngāpuhi leader, long at the centre of controversy over his leadership of New Zealand’s largest iwi, has been sentenced to jail for indecent assault following a determined seven-year legal battle by a teenage girl.

Throughout the prolonged prosecution, the Northland girl – now a young woman – has endured local gossip and backlash from supporters of the influential figure, Raniera (Sonny) Tau.

But at the sentencing of Tau this week for four charges of indecent assault and one charge of perverting the course of justice, she reclaimed her voice.

“Today I am speaking my truth. For seven years I’ve endured lies and rumours about what happened to me in 2017 when I was just 16 years old.

“You told your version of the story. You manipulated those around you, your family, friends, wife, your entire community. Twisting things to make them believe I did things to you,” she said in a victim impact statement read in court.

Tau was found guilty of the charges at the Whangārei District Court following a jury trial in December 2024.

The court heard the girl had a close relationship with Tau and his whānau and would spend time on their farm helping the man she looked up to as a “father figure”.

“I loved being on the farm. It was a place full of joy, adventure and a sense of belonging. I felt welcomed, and I would help on the farm and I did so willingly,” the statement said.

Tau would often text the girl’s mother to take her to lunch or shopping, which they appreciated.

After texting the girl’s parents asking if he could take her fishing in early 2017, the victim said she knew something was wrong when he arrived and she noticed the car packed for a long weekend.

“Something felt off. A deep feeling unsettled in my stomach, a warning I could not explain,” her victim impact statement said.

Tau took her to remote Rangi Point, 40km away with no phone, no neighbours and no way to get out.

As dark closed in, the girl became scared and took up Tau’s offer to sleep in his bed.

After hearing the Crown evidence, the jury found Tau guilty of four indecent assaults that occurred in that bed.

When Tau dropped the girl home the following morning, her parents noticed immediately something was wrong.

“You returned my girl empty, just an empty shell,” her mother said at sentencing.

“She became a stranger in our own home, at times a monster,” she said.

The victim said she thought the worst was over, but it was only just beginning.

Once a social, active sporty girl, she retreated from herself and described struggling every day to “stay alive”.

“Going through town sent my anxiety spiralling, like Sonny was lurking, waiting to take me again,” she said.

In the weeks following, Tau had three meetings with the girl and her parents in an attempt to resolve the matter outside court.

He offered them $20,000, which she declined.

Tau has held significant positions that involved attempts at negotiating a Ngāpuhi settlement pictured here in 2015 with then Deputy Prime Minister Bill English. Photo / NZME

At the time, Tau was chair of Te Rūnanga ā iwi ō Ngāpuhi (Traion) a position he held since 2009 despite being convicted in 2015 after he was found with five native frozen kereru in his suitcase at Invercargill airport.

In that case, he was also charged with perverting the course of justice after he attempted to have his nephew take the rap.

Tau had a large crowd of supporters present at his latest sentencing, including Ngati Hine leader and actor, Waiharoi Shortland.

Tau appeared disengaged through victim impact statements and Crown submissions, only opening his eyes when defence lawyer Arthur Fairley spoke.

Crown lawyer Geraldine Kelly said Tau’s stature in the community played a significant role in his ability to offend.

“He chose to use his position of authority over her and her family to be able to bring about an instance where he could isolate her and offend against her,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the victim has lived with seven years of turmoil from the community as she waited for trial.

“It took a brave young lady to speak up against someone who was thought so well of and what he actually did to her,” Kelly said.

Despite being stood down briefly in 2015, Tau maintained his role as chair of Te Rūnanga ā iwi ō Ngāpuhi from 2009 to 2019.

Fairley said his client had his own views on the trial outcome.

“I respect the verdict of the jury but I respectfully disagree with it, and I will take my constitutional rights elsewhere,” Tau told a pre-sentence report writer.

Judge Taryn Bayley received 30 letters of support for Tau but was critical of his stance on the offending.

“You maintain that this was consensual, or that you believe it was; that you in my view, having heard the evidence, is very concerning,” Judge Bayley said.

“She was only 16 years of age, you were 63 years old and 47 years her senior.

“It is implausible to believe the victim would reciprocate your sexual advances.”

Judge Bayley relayed Tau had 40 prior convictions dating back to the early 1970s but that he had made a significant contribution to the iwi as a negotiator and chair of TRAION.

“But there is a different side to you Mr Tau. You do not appear before this court with a clear criminal record.”

Judge Bayley said the fact Tau had two convictions for perverting the course of justice was informative of his character.

“These convictions indicate that you are a person who believes they are entitled to act and behave as they wish without regard to the law, or that they are above the law.”

Tau was jailed for three years and seven months and will be required to go before the Parole Board to determine his release date.

*This article has been updated to remove the description of Mr Shortland’s appearance during parts of the sentencing.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.