Discharge for breach of suppression
A Paraparaumu man has been discharged without conviction for illegally naming, on talkback radio, the victim of a sexual attack by Ka¯ piti Coast district councillor David Scott.
Kerry Raymond Bolton had originally denied the charge but changed his plea just before his judge-alone trial was set to begin last year.
Porirua District Court judge Ian Mill yesterday said the discharge was conditional on him paying reparation of $1500 to the victim within a month.
He added that he did not think the victim would welcome the money but she was free to donate it if she chose.
The judge said he had to proceed on the basis that it could not be proved Bolton knowingly or recklessly breached the suppression.
He said in a submission, Bolton had apologised to the court but felt ultimate responsibility lay elsewhere, that he was an easy mark and had been singled out by the vindictive nature of the victim.
‘‘He shows absolutely no remorse for her and her position,’’ the judge said.
The victim had ended up giving up her job after being approached in public once her name was used.
Bolton’s lawyer, Michael Bott, said it was an honest mistake.
There was no evidence that the suppression on her name was done in open court.
Bott said Bolton had apologised when he spoke to the police when they showed up at his home.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Paul Macky said it was inconceivable that he did not know about the suppression.
Last year, a jury found Scott guilty of indecent assault after he rubbed his genitals against a council staff member during a morning tea at the council’s Paraparaumu headquarters. He had pleaded not guilty.
His defence had sought to prove she could not have felt Scott’s penis by asking for his measurements to be taken by a doctor and provided to the jury.
Scott, 71, was convicted and fined $1500 and a judge in Wellington District Court declined to discharge him without conviction. He is appealing the decision. It could mean the loss of his seat on the council.
The woman has now applied for a restraining order to stop Scott contacting her family.
It was revealed at the preliminary hearing for the restraining order that five other staff had complained about Scott’s behaviour before he indecently assaulted his victim.