Articles from ‘elocal magazine’ in ‘Crime’

The death of three-month-old Ronin Stanley-Hunt has exposed a disturbing intersection between New Zealand’s methamphetamine problem, infant vulnerability and the ability of health and social services to intervene before tragedy occurs. His death followed that of his four-month-old sister two years earlier, with methamphetamine detected in both children Elocal by Report · Ronin John Tony Stanley-Hunt was found unresponsive at his West Auckland…

Nearly a month after a woman and two very young children were killed at a Rotorua home, a man charged with assaulting a person in a family relationship has been released on electronically monitored bail. Police have described the deaths as homicides, but publicly available information does not show that the man has been charged with causing any of the three deaths. Report by eLocal · Three deaths inside a Rotorua home on the night of 7…

A Bay of Plenty police sergeant has been acquitted after a jury heard he punched a woman five times while she was being held in a police cell. The verdict resolves the criminal charge, but the case raises a separate public-interest question about how force used against people in custody is authorised, recorded and independently scrutinised Report by eLocal · A Tauranga jury has found a police sergeant not guilty of injuring with intent to…

An award-winning senior police officer has been charged in connection with an alleged fraud involving nearly $18 million. Police say the alleged offending was unrelated to his duties, but the case raises questions about how public institutions manage conflicts of interest and maintain confidence when one of their own faces serious criminal allegations. Report by eLocal · A senior New Zealand police officer is facing 70 charges under the Crimes…

Labour has proposed a new corporate homicide offence for workplace deaths, drawing support from families of the 29 men killed at Pike River Mine. The proposal raises a central question for New Zealand: how would the new offence differ from existing workplace safety law, and what would be required to prove it? Report by eLocal · Labour has promised to introduce a corporate homicide offence if elected, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment…

For almost four years, three New Zealand children remained hidden in the rugged country around Marokopa with their father, Tom Phillips. The Public Inquiry into their disappearance has now concluded that authorities missed opportunities both to prevent their second disappearance and to bring them home sooner eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Sam Sherwood, National Crime Correspondent for RNZ, and the Report of the Public Inquiry into the…

I omitted the intro summary under 620 characters from the Format C package. Here it is: · A father has been jailed for 12 years after repeatedly sexually abusing his daughter over four years. Nelson District Court Judge Chris Macklin described the offending as being at the highest end for a single victim and highlighted the profound breach of trust involved. The man, whose identity is permanently suppressed to protect his daughter, must serve…

An Auckland couple were found equally culpable for nearly nine years of tax evasion and fraud totalling more than $554,000. But while the husband was sent to prison, the judge reduced his wife’s sentence to home detention on humanitarian grounds, saying imprisoning both parents would be too hard on their children. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by RNZ HERE. · An Auckland woman has avoided imprisonment for tax offending after a judge…

Hakyung Lee remains sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering her two young children, but the Court of Appeal has reduced the minimum period she must serve before becoming eligible for parole. The judges found a “stark” disparity between Lee’s sentence and that imposed on Lauren Dickason, concluding the difference could not be justified under sentencing principles. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Ric Stevens for the New Zealand Herald,…

A New Zealand Police staffer is before the courts facing 39 charges, including allegations of rape, kidnapping, indecent assault and unlawful sexual connection. The case is one of 10 active prosecutions arising from investigations by the Police National Integrity Unit, according to information obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Sam Sherwood, National Crime Correspondent for RNZ HERE · RNZ…