Officers ‘kidnapped’ teen with mock arrest

Two senior police officers could face jail if they are found guilty of kidnapping an Auckland teenager in order to scare him off underage sex.

Their alleged vigilante justice has seen one of the men stood down from his duties as an inspector, although he has stayed on in his role as the chairman of a prominent South Auckland marae.

Hurimoana Dennis and Vaughan Perry both pleaded not guilty when they appeared at the High Court in Auckland yesterday.

Dennis was a friend of the teenage boy’s family, and became involved at the request of relatives.

In his opening statement, Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey said Dennis had delivered the teen an ultimatum: Start a new life in Australia, or face charges for statutory rape.

The then 17-year-old had been in a relationship with a 15-year-old girl for about six months. They both have name suppression.

The young woman’s family had no problem with the pairing, however, the young man’s family raised strong objections.

The teen’s mother reported her son to police for underage sex but police decided not to press charges.

Dennis arranged for the teenager to attend a meeting at the central Auckland police station.

The young man was cornered in an interview room with the inspector and his mother and grandfather.

Dennis told him if he did not agree to leave for Australia he would be ‘‘taken down to the cells and charged with rape, and taken to court the next day’’.

‘‘Unsurprisingly, he did not feel in a position to get up and leave,’’ Dickey said, despite the fact that legally he was free to walk away.

Dennis later escorted the teen through the station and locked him in a cell.

Perry was the custody sergeant and went along with the actions of Dennis in making the teen think he was under arrest.

Dickey told the jury the young man was ‘‘very, very scared’’ and told Dennis he had chosen to leave the country.

‘‘In reality, he had no choice. He had been threatened by a senior officer of the New Zealand Police.’’

The teen was escorted to the airport by family the next day and placed on a flight to Sydney.

Dickey said the teen was placed under virtual ‘‘house arrest’ while living with other family members in Australia, before he escaped and travelled back to New Zealand with the assistance girlfriend’s family.

Dennis arranged for the teen to be detained upon his arrival in Auckland on June 10, 2015. Dennis faces a second charge of kidnapping in relation to that incident.

Dennis said in a police interview his actions were undertaken through ‘‘heart and care’’ consistent with Maori tikanga, or cultural values, and consented to by the teen’s parents.

However, Dickey said a 17-yearold was legally an adult and their parents could not consent to a mock arrest on their behalf.

The trial is expected to last up to four weeks. of his