Ex-airwoman Mariya Taylor, victim of Robert Roper’s abuse, denied damages from RNZAF

• Mariya Taylor sought exemplary damages from the RNZAF for sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of former sergeant Robert Roper.
• Justice Rebecca Edwards ruled the claim didn’t meet the high threshold for exemplary damages.
• The court found no evidence the RNZAF acted outrageously or wilfully regarding Roper’s actions.

Sexual abuse victim Mariya Taylor has failed in her bid to win exemplary damages from the Royal New Zealand Air Force for the treatment she received from former sergeant Robert “Groper” Roper in the 1980s.

A newly released High Court decision marks the last battle of an eight-year campaign by Taylor to be compensated for what she endured.

Robert Richard Roper’s offending occurred between 1976 and 1988 when he served with the RNZAF at its Whenuapai base in Hobsonville, Auckland.

Mariya Taylor, photographed here as a young airwoman at Whenuapai, has been trying to get compensation for the abuse she suffered from Roger Roper.

Now in his 70s, Roper was sentenced in 2015 to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of 20 sex charges against five women.

Taylor was an 18-year-old recruit when she began working with Roper, who she said bullied, verbally abused, sexually harassed and inappropriately touched her between 1985 and 1988. He also falsely imprisoned her by locking her in a tyre cage.

Her legal battle to gain compensation went through a series of appeals all the way to the Supreme Court, which confirmed Taylor’s claim was not allowed under the Accident Compensation Act 2001.

She then took a case for exemplary damages back to the High Court. Exemplary damages, or punitive damages, can be granted in some circumstances under the ACC legislation.

Robert Roper was jailed for 13 years for historical sexual offending.

Rather than compensating someone for harm suffered, exemplary damages are aimed at punishing the wrongdoer for outrageous or oppressive conduct, and also at deterring others from acting in a similar way.

Taylor claimed the RNZAF was either vicariously or directly liable for Roper’s actions, and had a duty of care to protect her.

But in her High Court decision released today, Justice Rebecca Edwards said that a claim for exemplary damages had to meet a high threshold, and in Taylor’s case must be dismissed.

“The evidence falls short of reaching the high threshold fixed by the Supreme Court for exemplary damages awards in cases of negligence.

“There is no evidence that the RNZAF deliberately ran the risk that Ms Taylor would be harmed, let alone acted outrageously or wilfully in doing so,” she said.

“Moreover, the deterrent purpose of an award of exemplary damages would not be met given the changes made in the RNZAF in the last 30 years.

“There is no other reason to award exemplary damages against the RNZAF in this case.”

The court said there was no evidence the RNZAF consciously appreciated the risks Roper posed to her and deliberately ran those risks.

Nor was there any evidence of outrageous, high-handed, malicious or wilful conduct which would attract an award of exemplary damages for negligence. Roper was the wrongdoer, not the RNZAF.

“This court has every sympathy for Ms Taylor and what she endured at the hands of Mr Roper in the 1980s,” Justice Edwards said.

“The desire to hold the RNZAF accountable for what occurred is understandable in those circumstances.

“However, like any other claim in this court, Ms Taylor’s claim for exemplary damages must be determined in accordance with the law.”

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 frontline experience as a probation officer.