Latest news with #HarassmentAct
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Private prosecution against former FNDC lawyer George Swanepoel won't include new allegations
In August 2020, Swanepoel allegedly sent two emails to the Companies Office saying the physical address of the pontoon Claydon had provided for his business was not a valid address. Claydon went to police seeking a prosecution alleging Swanepoel had submitted a form using false claims. Police declined to proceed with a prosecution so Claydon filed a private prosecution against Swanepoel in 2021, which, to date, has no trial date allocated. In the charging document offence description, Claydon alleges Swanepoel made fictitious messages designed to disrupt his family business, waste his time and harass him and his family. 'He actually did harass myself and my family causing extreme stress and did disrupt our business causing significant loss,' the charging document states. Initially, the District Court allowed the charge to proceed as a representative charge to which Swanepoel pleaded not guilty. But in 2023, Judge Philip Rzepecky amended the charge to focus solely on two emails sent on August 24, 2020, and gave Claydon permission to file additional charges based on other alleged communications. Claydon responded by submitting 20 new charges, ranging from further Telecommunications Act violations to allegations under the Crimes Act, Harassment Act, and Summary Offences Act. These included claims of blackmail, fraud, harassment, and attempts to pervert the course of justice. At a pre-trial hearing in September 2024, Judge Rzepecky ruled none of the new charges could be accepted for filing. He found they were 'fresh' charges and were not appropriately linked to the original incident. Twelve of the charges were time-barred, falling outside the six-month limitation period. The remaining eight were dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence to justify a trial. Claydon appealed the decision, claiming the judge failed to consider his personal circumstances, including difficulty in particularising dates and details. Justice David Johnstone rejected Claydon's appeal and agreed, in a recently released decision, the 20 new charges were fresh allegations. 'Mr Claydon suggests he was taken by surprise by a police decision not to prosecute Mr Swanepoel, and for that reason acted reasonably in filing only one, broadly framed, charge,' Justice Johnstone said in his decision. 'As a prosecutor, however, Mr Claydon bears the responsibility of bringing proceedings correctly, in accordance with the CPA. His own circumstances at the time he elected to pursue a private prosecution are irrelevant to the circumstances of Mr Swanepoel's alleged offences.' With the appeal denied, Claydon is left with one original charge to prosecute which is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in September. Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
Telegraph
18-02-2025
- Telegraph
Police dropped investigation into ‘psychotic' manager who ‘harassed' teen soldier
Police dropped an investigation into harassment claims against a 'psychotic' bombardier who 'relentlessly' hounded a teenage soldier who later died in a suspected suicide, an inquest heard. A detective who investigated the death of Gunner Jaysley Beck said that the allegations against her manager Bombardier Ryan Mason, who has left the Army, did not meet the criminal threshold. Gunner Beck's inquest heard that the 19-year-old was 'bombarded' by thousands of 'I love you messages' from Mr Mason and that she became 'scared' of him. Following alleged harassment by Mr Mason and other soldiers, Gunner Beck was found dead in single living accommodation in Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire on Dec 15 2021. 'Unwelcome harassment' Her suspected suicide prompted an Army service inquiry, which found in October 2023 that 'unwelcome' harassment was a 'causal factor' in her death. At the hearing on Tuesday, Det Insp Eirin Martin of Wiltshire Police said that while there was an 'investigation' into 'looking at' claims of harassment against Mr Mason, they were ultimately dropped. The inspector said that it was too late to present the claims and that the 'nature of the messages' did not amount to a criminal matter. Salisbury coroner's court heard that Gunner Beck joined the army in March 2019 where she undertook training in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. She graduated into the Royal Artillery the following year and was subsequently posted to the 14th Regiment in Larkhill, Wiltshire, where she joined the Corps Engagement Team. In October of that year, Mr Mason sent Gunner Beck over 1,000 WhatsApp messages, with this increasing to more than 3,600 the following month. Speaking at her inquest, Det Insp Martin said that after the soldier died, she received a 'complaint of harassment' against Mr Mason by Gunner Beck's mother, Leighann McCready. Det Insp Martin said: 'We conducted an investigation into looking at harassment over that period of time and the conclusion of that is the evidence did not support [a criminal investigation] for two main reasons.' The police inspector said the 'nature of the messages' and the 'nature of their relationship' were not considered to amount to the 'criminal' definition of harassment. She also said there is a six-month statutory charge limit in cases of harassment and in the case of a claim against Mr Mason, 'we were very far outside that'. Det Insp Martin is understood to have taken over the case in January 2024, over two years after Gunner Beck died. She said that she also considered section four of the Harassment Act, which relates to whether Mr Mason put Gunner Beck 'in fear of violence', but that'there was no evidence of an offer of violence within that relationship'. 'Relationship with colleagues' The police inspector also referred to the '14-page letter' written by Mr Mason and described it as being 'a journal of his inner thoughts around his life' and 'around his relationship with colleagues at work'. Det Insp Martin said it also contained a 'significant amount' of writings about his 'feelings towards Jaysley'. Mr Mason previously gave evidence to the inquest and denied trying to 'emotionally manipulate' the teenager. He told the coroner's court that he 'knew there was never a chance with her' and declined to acknowledge the high number of messages he had sent to the her. Mr Mason denied asking Gunner Beck to 'sleep' with him and when asked if he put his hand on her leg during an army event he said 'no'. The inquest previously heard that when the pair met their working relationship started normally but he began 'overstepping the mark' and she became 'scared' of him. 'Possessive and psychotic' It heard that Gunner Beck once described Mr Mason as 'possessive and psychotic' and that the harassment she had suffered was 'relentless'. In one message, Mr Mason said: 'You're amazing Jaysley, I appreciate you so much, I love everything about you, even your flaws and I'm so grateful to call you my friend... You are stuck with me forever now. It's signed and sealed, I love you x.' At one point, the soldier even feared that Mr Mason had 'hacked' her mobile phone as he once messaged her saying 'Jaysley Beck I know you're standing at the bottom of the building on your telephone'. However, Mr Mason denied this completely. Ms McCready said her daughter, from Oxen Park in Cumbria, told her 'he's actually scaring me now mum'. It was also heard that Mr Mason had written 'a love story' about him and Gunner Beck that 'bordered on sexual harassment'. It has previously been stated that the story involved characters 'personified' by the two of them. The inquest continues.
BBC News
29-01-2025
- BBC News
'Stalking could be murder in slow motion,' campaigner says
"It has the potential to be murder in slow motion."Tracey Morgan was stalked by a colleague in Hampshire for nearly a decade and has campaigned for laws to provide better protection for victims.A BBC Freedom of Information request found 1,388 Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) were issued by the police forces who responded, with nearly 440,000 overall cases recorded between 2020 and Morgan called the statistics "so disappointing" and said a multi-agency approach was needed. Ms Morgan, who now lives in Crowthorne, Berkshire, said her experience of being stalked was "relentless", including being followed, watched, and the stalker accessing her home and taking items, as well as pouring oil over her car on two occasions."He made plans to kill me and my husband at the time," she said."We eventually got the test case for psychological grievous bodily harm in 1996 and he has over 20 convictions relating to his stalking of me."She said reporting that to the police had been "difficult" as she had "no bruises or broken bones"."When a victim goes for help, what have they got to show, necessarily?," she stalker was only jailed for life in 2001 for the attempted murder of another Morgan said hearing the figures of convictions was "so disappointing". "[The victims] are actually terrified, it takes a lot of courage to go to the police."Why are the criminal justice system not getting it?"Last year, a review by London's victims' commissioner Claire Waxman found that two-thirds of stalking offences in London are committed by repeat Waxman said 45% of stalking victims withdrew from the justice process and a further 41% saw no further police action on their complaints, according to her findings. Ms Morgan is now a member of the National Stalking said she had spearheaded the campaign which brought in the Harassment Act in 1997, which deals with stalking both on and said she had also given evidence to the parliamentary inquiry, which brought in the stalking laws and had thought the restraining orders would help."However, they were there, as I was told, to restrain, not instruct, when we discovered my stalker had changed his name by deed poll to my ex boyfriend's. "The SPO are there to ... protect victims before damage is done, however, they're a piece of paper, not bulletproof vests."It's really, really vital that the agencies react quickly ... and prevent further damage." SPOs, introduced in January 2020, are civil orders that must be applied for by the police through the magistrates' courts on behalf of prohibit activities such as entering certain locations or making the Thames Valley around 7% of stalking cases resulted in convictions, which is similar to other forces around the Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said all reports of stalking or harassment "are taken seriously"."I have funded the Thames Valley Stalking Service since 2023 and during that time it has supported over 500 victims," he minister Jess Phillips said there were "many problems" across the country in how stalking issues were dealt with."It needs a lot of work of which the government has committed to but it is simply not good enough. "You can't look at figures like that and think anything else." Ms Morgan said the statistics "speak for themselves". "[Victims] have possibly gone through a hundred incidents before going to the police, so the need to react and take seriously," she said."It has the potential to be murder in slow motion and we want to prevent that."Also, if [a SPO or a restraining order] isn't acted upon ... what message does that send to the perpetrator? She said TVP "need to look at the other agencies" such as the Cheshire Harm Reduction Unit."I know for a fact that Thames Valley and Hampshire probation service are keen to work together with the other agencies, to sit down with the case and discuss each case."There is so much knowledge in the area." If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available via the BBC Action Line. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
