He said “Barbara” could file an affidavit to try and have his charges dropped, and the trio arranged to have the victim present at the weekend when Leon Dalley called them.
Two days later, on March 11, and despite a non-contact order, Leon Dalley spoke with the victim during five separate phone calls, where she spoke of her commitment to him and how the attack “haunts” her, while Dalley said he hated himself for what he did.
Dalley then discussed aspects of the trial evidence with her and apologised for the marks that were left around her neck and told her she needed to speak with his parents because there were options available to ensure he got out of prison at his next court date.
Over the next five weeks, Dalley spoke with his parents 15 times, involving “frequent references” to the need for the victim to file an affidavit contradicting her previous statements to police and how any evidence would be “explained away”.
He told his parents the victim needed to “sort it out and get him out”, and in another call told his father about his own version of events and getting that information to the victim.
When Deborah Dalley identified issues due to the photographic evidence, her son said she would “just have to come up with a lie to explain to them”.
Leon Dalley also alluded to different, fraudulent ways he had learned to phone the victim, and the trio often discussed the need to veil their conversations due to them being recorded.
On April 21, last year, the victim filed a new affidavit in the Morrinsville District Court offering an “alternative explanation” for what happened – that she had been pressed into making statements against him by her family and police.
Henry Dalley later offered to email his son a copy of the new affidavit so he could familiarise himself with it.
‘It’s not tenable’
Crown solicitor Kasey Dillon took exception to Deborah Dalley’s comments to a pre-sentence report writer that she would do the same thing again and didn’t believe she had done anything wrong.
“It’s the Crown submission that any discount for remorse must be negated by this statement.
“[She] says she wasn’t aware that anything was illegal about her actions, and that’s simply not possible in the circumstances where they used a code name to try and avoid Corrections.
“It’s not tenable.”
‘Fall from grace’
Counsel Ashleigh Beech said the comments in the report were a “miscommunication” and not meant to be portrayed that way.
“So when [Deborah] says that she would maybe do it again, that’s not a direct comment of the offending itself, she meant she would be supportive of her son.
“It has been misguided loyalty to her son ... and [trying to] be the maker of peace.
“They have accepted it has broken the law. They don’t know that they have done anything wrong ... they have accepted the offending and do appreciate the gravity of what has occurred.”
The couple were both aged in their 50s and this had been a “fall from grace”.
They both worked seven days in their burger bar in Matamata, employed staff and did a lot of good work in the community including the sponsoring of sports teams.
Instead of a suggested home detention sentence, she pushed for community detention, but either way, it would be “embarrassing” for them.
“What Mrs Dalley is particularly embarrassed of, is really going to carry on her shoulders, sir, is the wearing of an electronically monitored bracelet.
“This is the first time she has been before the court.”
‘Particularly egregious’
Judge Crayton said there was “nothing accidental” about what the couple had done.
“It is utterly considered, it is utterly misplaced and it was intended undoubtedly to defeat the course of justice in a case which was extremely serious.
“This is, let’s not shy away from it, this is a particularly egregious offence.”
He said it was vital that prosecutions were not compromised.
“All too often, given family dynamics, those who are complainants ... are vulnerable to approach by other family members.
“The court put in place protective steps. Here, that was the remand in custody of your son.
“It is very clear ... that this was not only a considered but a concerted effort, to undermine justice.”
Judge Crayton dismissed a community detention sentence as the maximum was only six months.
He felt that didn’t meet the purposes and principles of sentencing, especially given Deborah Dalley’s comments to the report writer, “the entire situation is a big conspiracy”, “would maybe do it again”, “a mother’s parental instinct”, and that they were “unfairly targeted”.
Judge Crayton sentenced them each to seven months and one week of home detention, which would start on Friday, on a charge of wilfully attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Leon Dalley was sentenced on his charges in January this year.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and has been a journalist for 20.
