The defence lawyer for a police inspector accused of kidnapping a teenager says the Crown's case is based on lies and has no substance.
Hurimoana Dennis is on trial for allegedly kidnapping a teen boy. Photo: RNZ / YouTube
The jury has been told the teenage boy was taken into police cells without the option of a lawyer or being told it was just a visit.
The young man, aged 17 at the time, said two senior police officers threatened to arrest him on charges of statutory rape if he did not agree to forget about his then 15-year-old girlfriend and move to Australia to start a new life.
Inspector Hurimoana Dennis and his colleague Sergeant Vaughn Perry have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping charges in the High Court in Auckland.
In his closing arguments today, Mr Dennis's lawyer Stephen Bonnar told the jury the Crown's case is based on the narrative of the boy, but the narrative doesn't stack up.
The boy, who cannot be named, previously told the court Mr Dennis intimidated him and locked him in a police cell, searched him and took his belongings.
Mr Bonnar said the boy knew all along that he was only going to the cells for a visit, as part of a choices and consequences conversation that was had about his relationship with his 15-year-old girlfriend.
Mr Bonnar said the case was about competing narratives.
"The boy has painted a narrative of threats of intimidation, of shouting and of swearing - none of which was observed by any other witnesses.
"It's a narrative which paints him as a frightened little boy, but only a frightened little boy when it suits him or the Crown's case," Mr Bonnar said.
He said the common theme in the boy's evidence is that he was too terrified to resist or speak up - in the police station or in front of Mr Dennis.
"I suggest to you that the boy showed a significant willingness to lie when it suits him, including under oath here on the stand in front of you.
"If he was so terrified of Mr Dennis, why, after promising him that he would break up with his girlfriend, did he go and tell his uncle straight away that he was going to stay with her.
"I suggest to you that the defence's narrative has the ring of truth around it, it is backed by evidence and backed by other witnesses," Mr Bonnar said.
He asked the jury why a police inspector with 30 years' experience, a person who is committed to dealing with people with dignity and respect would act in the way the Crown alleges.
"It doesn't make sense," Mr Bonnar said.
This morning in his closing argument Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey told the jury the boy felt frightened and confined when he was taken into the police cells.
"He knew something was wrong, he was led into an interview room and the door was closed behind him.
"He was then taken down to the cells by Mr Dennis and shut in there - at no point did Mr Dennis tell him it was a visit, at no point did he tell the boy he was free to go," Mr Dickey said.
He said the fact Mr Dennis said in his police interview that he did not have to drag or push the boy into the cells does not mean the boy was consenting to be there.
"He was treated like a criminal thrown in the cells, less than a criminal because he was not even given his rights - this was an abuse of authority and power.
"He was confined under no legal basis," Mr Dickey told the jury.
Justice Wylie will sum up the case tomorrow before the jury retires to consider its verdicts
