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Home / New Zealand

TV veteran's sex assault trial: Complainant threatened to 'take down' accused, company

Anna Leask
By Anna Leask
Senior Journalist - crime and justice·NZ Herald·
17 Jan, 2020 02:17 AM5 mins to read

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The accused was granted interim name suppression so the Herald cannot identify him, or the specifics of his work in the industry. Photo / 123rf

The accused was granted interim name suppression so the Herald cannot identify him, or the specifics of his work in the industry. Photo / 123rf

A woman who claims her entertainment industry boss sexually assaulted her had threatened to "destroy" him and his company "a lot" and seemed to hate me, a witness says.

The woman is one of three former employees who went to police and made allegations of sexual offending against the man.

The first says she woke on the couch of his motel room after a wrap party to find him with his hand down her pants touching her genitals.

The second complainant has been giving evidence today.

The third - who will give evidence later this week - says the man groped her several times at another wrap party and followed her to her hotel room when she tried to get away from him.

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The man is currently on trial in the Auckland District Court facing a charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and five of indecent assault.

An interim suppression order prevents the Herald from publishing the man's name or specific details of the work he does in the industry.

However‌, ‌it‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌reported‌ ‌that‌ ‌he‌ ‌has‌ ‌been‌ ‌involved‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌number‌ ‌of‌ ‌high-profile‌ ‌film‌ ‌and‌ ‌television‌ ‌projects‌ ‌in‌ ‌New‌ ‌Zealand‌ ‌and‌ some‌ ‌significant‌ ‌retail‌ ‌brands.‌

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The second complainant claims the man ran his hand up her thigh at a post-filming party and said "if you look after me, I'll look after you".

She did not quit her job following the alleged assault, saying it was good for her career and, perhaps moreover, she wanted to stay close to him to make sure he didn't assault anyone else.

Soon after she was at another wrap party where the man allegedly assaulted another female employee - the third complainant.

Earlier this week defence lawyer Marie Dyhrberg QC put to the second complainant that she fabricated the incident and has lied about what happened between her and the accused to "take down" his company.

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This was because he did not employ her for future projects.

And, because the woman had been "difficult to manage", had "a lot of conflict" with other colleagues and "caused rifts and divisiveness" among people - routinely insulting them.

The complainant denied any intention to destroy the accused or his company.

She was adamant the assault happened and she was not lying, and never had any intention of harming the accused professionally.

She conceded that while there were parts of her employment that were not ideal, there was absolutely no malicious intent or motive in her going to police.

Today the jury heard from two former colleagues about the complainant.

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A woman told the court that she soon decided not to get too close to the complainant soon after meeting her at work.

"Within a matter of a few days she was running the boys down, saying they were useless, making derogative (sic) comments," she said.

"She was very bossy.

"She said 'I'm gonna bring down (the accused's company), I'm gonna destroy them."

The woman said the complainant had "a terrible attitude towards men".

"She would say 'I've got to babysit (the accused), I've got to ring (his then-partner) and tell her what he's been doing."

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The woman asked the complainant why and was told it was because of an earlier incident involving their boss and a woman.

"I'm going to destroy (the company)... she said it a lot," said the witness.

"She was going to bring it down.

"I am very sure."

Another man told the jury that the complainant was "toxic" in the workplace.

"She was possibly the most erosive, toxic character I've ever worked with," he said.

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"She was very undermining, very insulting, very difficult to work with.

"People didn't want to work with her... I had to speak to her... she continued to be very, very insulting, use very provocative language."

As a result, once the project finished, she was not rehired for further work.

When she gave evidence earlier in the week the complainant said she had good relationships with other staff and denied any interpersonal issues in the workplace, apart from with one other woman.

"I've made the allegations because I'm speaking out about the truth," she said.

She admitted she was upset to lose the work he had offered her but she denied any dishonesty around her complaint.

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"I had a lot of sadness and felt my integrity had been compromised and things happened that shouldn't have happened when (the accused) was my boss."

She said the accused's actions were "unacceptable".

The trial will continue next week.

SEXUAL HARM - DO YOU NEED HELP?

If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.​

If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone contact the Safe to Talk confidential crisis helpline on:

• Text 4334 and they will respond

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• Email support@safetotalk.nz

• Visit https://safetotalk.nz/contact-us/ for an online chat

Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.

If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.

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