Labour Party camp sequel: Guilty plea deal struck

A 21-year-old man on trial this week over multiple allegations of sexual assault at the Labour Party summer camp has reached a plea deal with the case’s prosecutors.

The accused faced five counts of indecent assault, which related to four people — two men and two women.

But yesterday, in a sudden turn of events, he pleaded guilty to two amended charges of assault under the Summary Offences Act 1981.

The assault charges were in relation to the two men, while the remaining charges over the allegations by the two women were dismissed.

The accused’s lawyer Emma Priest called it “drunken antics at a party” and said she would seek a discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression for him. An interim suppression order will continue until November.

The trial was expected to finish at the end of the week.

The accused had been on trial in the Auckland District Court over events at the young Labour event near Waihi in February last year.

After being arrested in June 2018 he faced six counts of indecent assault, but some of the allegations against him were dropped in September.

He was accused of having grabbed and squeezed a man’s testicles, touched another man’s genitals twice, kissed a woman on her neck and face and groped a second woman.

The court heard there was heavy drinking at the camp.

One of the victims said the night, which began with a quiz, “was just a glorified piss-up”.

Priest had said her client was “a young man at a party caught up in a political storm”.

Judge Russell Collins thanked the jury for participating in an “important part of our democracy” and said the case had somewhat highlighted New Zealand society’s use or abuse of alcohol.

Priest told the Herald after the plea deal that her client “has pleaded guilty to two minor assaults which he’s always been prepared to take responsibility for.”

Maria Austen, a Wellington lawyer, conducted an external review of Labour procedures after the claims were made.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the report will not be publicly released while the court case was on.

Party president Nigel Haworth has said the party will implement all the Austen report recommendations.