Named: Police officer guilty of sexually violating colleague in Northland motel ends suppression fight - New Zealand Herald

A police officer found guilty of raping a colleague at a Northland motel can now be named after he abandoned his bid for secrecy.

Jamie Foster was on trial for two weeks last month before a jury found the constable guilty of indecently assaulting and sexually violating his female workmate at a Kerikeri motel during the early hours of February 5 last year.

The North Shore officer was part of a group deployed to help police the 2019 Waitangi Day events at the Treaty Grounds.

The female officer has permanent name suppression under New Zealand law.

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A hearing was due to be held this morning in the High Court at Auckland to determine whether Foster's name could be published.

However, his counsel Paul Borich, QC, abandoned the bid.

"I treat the appeal as finally determined by its abandonment, the interim suppression order expiring accordingly, and vacate tomorrow's fixture for the appeal's hearing," Justice Pheroze Jagose ruled yesterday afternoon.

After Foster, who has a young family, learned of the unanimous guilty verdicts the 29-year-old cop lashed out.

"It's ******* not fair!" the policeman screamed in the courtroom. "******* bull****!

"The truth will come out," his family said.

The officer is due to be sentenced next week in the Auckland District Court.

During the case, Foster and Borich claimed any sexual contact with the victim was consensual and a "pre-arranged hook-up".

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But Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney said Foster "helped himself" to his colleague as she lay sleeping after earlier indecently assaulting her when the two were alone.

Jamie Foster leaves the Auckland District Court after being charged last year. Photo / Doug Sherring

During the trial, the victim described how she woke in her dark motel room to pain.

She then reached for her phone and began recording a video. A one minute and 50 second interaction was recorded between her and Foster.

"I've denied you earlier, and I've woken up to you ******* me," she can be heard crying.

CCTV footage also showed Foster "creeping" across the motel courtyard at 2.34am and slowly opening the ranch slider door of his victim's room.

"With a sense of entitlement, which he quite clearly has, he crept into her room and he raped her," Culliney said.

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More CCTV footage from the night - played to the court - also revealed lewd behaviour by several other police officers staying at the motel, including a senior sergeant exposing himself and a drinking game using a hollowed-out police baton.

Foster was earlier stood down after the allegations emerged and a separate employment investigation was conducted, Auckland's Detective Superintendent Dave Lynch has said.

Northland's Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston told the court employment investigations into some of the other officers at the motel have concluded.

"The conduct of some of the people involved fell well short of expectations," he said.

Jamie Foster, pictured during his trial last month. Photo / Sam Hurley

In a statement after the trial, Superintendent Naila Hassan said those officers have been disciplined.

"The behaviour displayed by some staff on this occasion was completely unacceptable, disappointing and to say it was out of line with our values would be an understatement," Hassan said.

"Four staff were identified as having behaved in a way that breached our code of conduct. Three of them were dealt with within our disciplinary process and remain on active duty."

One officer, Hassan said, is "no longer working for the New Zealand Police".

"We cannot comment further on those matters as they are internal and New Zealand Police like any other employer has privacy obligations which we must adhere to."

Hassan also said while the judicial process is not yet complete police are unable to specifically comment further on this court case.

But she said police did want to acknowledge the strength of the victim over the past year and would continue to provide support to her as best as possible.

"I would like to thank the investigation team for their hard work, dedication and professionalism over the past 12 months."

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Named: Police officer guilty of sexually violating colleague in Northland motel ends suppression fight - New Zealand Herald
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