Former MP Falloon will not face charges, police say

Former Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon will not be charged over sending unsolicited images.

Police have confirmed they have ‘‘completed a thorough investigation into allegations raised by the leader of the National Party in July 2020, and by the initial complainant, relating to the sending of unsolicited images’’.

‘‘Whilst we acknowledge that the material sent was distressing for those who received the images, the investigation found that the actions did not meet the criminal threshold necessary to support a prosecution and no criminal charges will be laid.

‘‘We have today advised the complainants of the outcome of our inquiry,’’ the police statement said.

The issue came to light in July after Falloon announced he would not be contesting the September general election, citing a need to maintain his health and wellbeing and that he had made a number of mistakes and apologised to those affected.

What then began to emerge were allegations that Falloon had sent unsolicited images to several young women and on July 21 he resigned from Parliament.

In August, Megan Hands replaced Falloon as the National Party’s Rangitata candidate.

Hands lost to Labour’s Jo Luxton by 4408 votes in a seat that Falloon had won over Luxton in the 2017 general election by 6331 votes.

In a statement issued to The Timaru Herald yesterday, Falloon said: ‘‘As I noted in my resignation statement, I have made a number of mistakes and I again apologise to those affected. I deeply regret the harm it has caused.’’

He said that since he resigned he had been undergoing extensive counselling following a suicide attempt. ‘‘Clearing my name of any alleged offences has been a secondary consideration to my own mental health, however, I complied fully with a request from police to meet with them in September.

‘‘Following a tip-off and subsequent search, I have provided to police evidence my Facebook account has been compromised with my password appearing in a data leak. I have since added additional levels of security, including twofactor authentication.

‘‘I am awaiting legal advice in relation to making a criminal complaint against an individual identified through Facebook.’’