Robbery to rape while out on bail

Proposed new laws are unlikely to worry one Waikato man accused of a sex attack. Nicola Brennan-tupara reports

A Waikato man accused of raping a woman while on bail for aggravated robbery was again bailed yesterday – just as the Government moved to tighten up rules to keep those accused of crimes in jail.

Justice Minister Judith Collins yesterday tabled the Bail Amendment Bill which would reverse the burden of proof in bail decisions for some serious offences.

That will mean defendants will be required to prove they should be bailed, rather than the prosecution having to prove that they should not. But in Hamilton District Court yesterday a 38-year-old Huntly man, whom the Times has chosen not to name for legal reasons, was granted bail again after being accused of raping a woman he met at a party. He was on bail for an alleged aggravated robbery at the time.

His lawyer, Russell Boot, said his client vehemently denied both charges.

‘‘On the face of it, it seems particularly serious but when you step back, it’s still appropriate to grant bail,’’ he said.

Judge Rosemary Riddell acknowledged there had been offending while on bail in the past but was confident that bailing him again – with a strict curfew – would allay any fears of reoffending before his next court appearance.

Waikato Times inquiries have found 1179 alleged offenders who skipped bail in the region and managed to evade capture for over five years, including one who spent over seven years on the run.

The figures released to the Times under the Official Information Act show one alleged Waikato offender spent 88 months trying to avoid punishment after being bailed.

Details of what he was charged with, or whether he committed further crimes while on bail, were not revealed.

In the worst case, nationally, a bailed offender was on the run for almost 81⁄ years before being rearrested. A further 1212 have currently been on the run for between two and five years, 703 between one and two years and 1539 for under one year.

Victoria University crime prevention