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Home / New Zealand

Former ambo officer found guilty of sexual assault

By Sam Hurley
Hawkes Bay Today·
12 Nov, 2014 10:31 PM6 mins to read

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Christopher King said in court that the allegations against him were 'definitely not true'
Christopher King said in court that the allegations against him were 'definitely not true'

Christopher King said in court that the allegations against him were 'definitely not true'

Former Waipukurau ambulance officer Christopher Roger King has been found guilty on all sex charges by a jury at Napier District Court.

The jurors came to a unanimous verdict in the case of the former St John officer accused of sexually assaulting four women in the back of his ambulance. King's trial has lasted nine days.

The 48-year-old was found guilty of eight sex charges, including the sexual violation, stupefaction and making of intimate visual recordings of a then 15-year-old girl.

King had earlier said all the accusations against him are "definitely not" true. There are four female complainants, who were aged 15 to 57, between January 2010 and June 2013.

The jury of six men and six women retired to consider their verdicts at 11am.

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Yesterday, Crown Prosecutor Steve Manning said the jurors "have heard, during this trial, someone lying".

"There can be no other way to look at it, either these woman are lying or Mr King is lying," he said.

Mr Manning said there was "overwhelming evidence" in the case which "will take [the jury] to a position of guilt on all charges".

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He said either King was guilty or there was an "implausible coincidence" that not one, but four women came forward with the same allegation.

There was no room for collusion between the four women, because "they were all independent of each other", Mr Manning said.

"The uniform, that St John uniform, rightfully is a symbol of respect in this community," Mr Manning said.

"That same uniform became a protective cloak for Mr King, a cloak beneath which he hid his true intentions."

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King's lawyer, Bill Calver, said the allegations against his client became a "perfect storm of four very unfortunate events converging".

Judge Geoff Rea urged the jurors to "use your common sense and infer from the facts which has been presented to you".

"What you can't do is guess or speculate."

THE COMPLAINANTS

First alleged victim:

On July 24, 2013 a then 15-year-old teenage girl phoned 111 asking for medical assistance. It was later established she was the victim of a domestic assault.

King arrived at the Central Hawke's Bay home, in a single crewed ambulance, and prepared to transport the teen to the Waipukurau Medical Centre.

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GPS tracking evidence has shown the ambulance travelled for 10 minutes after leaving the home at 3pm, before stopping on the side of the road near Waipawa.

There, during a 10-minute window between 3.10pm and 3.20pm, the Crown alleges the teenager was administered Entonox, a pain-relief gas, to knock her out before King first violated and filmed her.

CCTV footage showed King's ambulance arriving with the teen at the medical centre at 3.26pm.

The Crown alleges during the 4.40 minutes the ambulance is parked outside the medical centre King again violated and filmed the teen.

An electronic forensic expert discovered "digital footprints" on King's cell phone, which showed a video was created at 3:15:29pm and again at 3:27:11pm.

The data also showed the second video was deleted at 3:31:13pm, while the first video was deleted five seconds later at 3:31:18pm.

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King denies ever inappropriately touching the teen and said he "accidentally" made the recordings on his phone, which captured nothing more than a "blank screen".

Second alleged victim:

On June 23, 2013 a 57-year-old woman phoned 111 following a slip in the shower.

King and another ambulance officer arrived at the woman's Waipukurau home and prepared to transport her to Hawke's Bay Hospital, in Hastings.

The woman alleges during the journey King slipped his hand under her sweatshirt and underpants.

She said after arriving at the hospital King lingered near her before grasping her right shoulder and saying: "I'll be in touch."

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The woman said she was then "bombarded" by "very intimate" text messages and phone calls from King.

However the woman, who has a history of mental health issues, said she "foolishly" replied with messages of her own and a text relationship began.

Two days after the incident the woman first spoke of the alleged assault to her psychiatrist, but it was more than a month before she told her Waipukurau GP and informed police.

King denies ever violating the woman while in the ambulance and said he only participated in a text relationship because he was "flattered" with the woman's attention.

The other paramedic in the ambulance at the time of the alleged assault has said he noticed nothing suspicious.

Third alleged victim:

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A terminally ill 23-year-old woman required transporting to hospital for treatment on March 29, 2012.

The woman passed away in February this year, but her allegations against King were played to the jury via a video recording of a 2013 police interview.

The woman said King was one of two ambulance officers to transport her from her Waipawa home to Hawke's Bay Hospital.

She told police that King molested her while on the way to hospital.

King denies ever touching the woman in a sexual nature. His lawyer, Bill Calver, has also expressed his disappointment, during closing arguments, in not having the ability to cross-examine the deceased complainant.

Fourth alleged victim:

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In February 2010 a 43-year-old Waipukurau woman began experiencing stomach pain. King was one of three ambulance officers to arrive at the home and treat the woman.

The woman also suffers from conversion disorder, which paralyses the left side of her body in times of stress.

After dropping one of the St John officers at the Waipukurau ambulance station the remaining two paramedics, including King, proceeded to transport the woman to Hawke's Bay Hospital.

The woman said King administered Entonox gas for the woman's stomach pain.

She claims King then violated her from underneath a blanket as he placed his hand between her legs. She said she then experienced a conversion attack as a result of the alleged violation.

After arriving at the hospital she notified her daughter he called police.

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Hawke's Bay police initially elected not to press charges at the time, however, the woman wrote a letter of complainant to St John.

After further allegations were later revealed about King's patient treatment, the woman pressed charges against King.

King denies ever touching the woman inappropriately, while the other paramedic in the ambulance recalls nothing suspicious.

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