A former police officer was yesterday convicted of violently assaulting his girlfriend.
But Tyler Stephens was cleared by a jury in the High Court at Auckland on two other charges of assaulting the woman, three of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and one of raping her.
Stuart Grieve, QC, prosecuting with
Karen Latimer, had told the jury the charges related to three separate incidents in September 1999, and January and May last year when Stephens was a serving constable. One of the incidents was alleged to have occurred after the couple split up.
Stephens, aged 26, of Blockhouse Bay, was found guilty of injuring the woman with intent, by headbutting her twice on the forehead.
Justice Hugh Williams remanded him in custody for sentencing next month.
Defence counsel Peter Kaye, appearing with Roger Chambers, had told the court the complainant was a woman scorned, who had made up the allegations to get back at Stephens.
The case was a retrial.
Neither jury was aware that on the morning of the first trial, Stephens had been discharged on sex charges relating to another former partner who declined to return from overseas to give evidence against him.
Last November Stephens was sentenced in the Auckland District Court to two months' jail after pleading guilty to possession of cannabis and Ecstasy.
He had resigned from the police just before the district court hearing.
His former partner told the High Court jury that initially she had feared the police would protect one of their own.
But outside the court the officer who was in charge of the case, Detective Senior Sergeant Jim Gallagher, said that allegations of offending were investigated impartially and fairly, irrespective of who was involved.
"The fact that it was a serving police officer, and the way he was dealt with during the investigation, shows that he - the same as anyone else - is not above the law."
He said Stephens had now been convicted of a serious violence offence and drug-related charges.
"Clearly, those are traits which are not only criminal, but ones which no police force would want its officers to have, " Detective Senior Sergeant Gallagher said.
