Former ACT Party president and convicted sex offender Tim Jago's name suppression went on too long - advocate

21 minutes ago

Pretoria Gordon, Journalist

RNZ Online

Tim Jago. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro

A survivors' advocate says people should not be able to get name suppression for as long as former ACT Party president Tim Jago had.

On Friday, Jago was named as the former political figure jailed last November after being found guilty of abusing two teenage boys in the 1990s.

Jago indecently assaulted two teenagers he had been mentoring through a sports club between 1995 and 1999.

He had been granted name suppression since being charged in January 2023. However, Jago's lawyer Ian Brookie told the Court of Appeal on Friday afternoon his client would no longer be seeking name suppression.

The court later confirmed the order had lapsed.

Ken Clearwater of the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust told RNZ he believed the laws surrounding name suppression helped the perpetrator more than the survivors.

"If you're rich and famous, you hold a position of power in this country, you can basically get away with just about anything. It's just wrong that people in these positions of power get name suppression for as long as he had it."

Clearwater said it may have prevented other victims from coming forward too.

"Survivors are carrying a lot of shame and guilt. If somebody is named at an early stage, it does allow others to come forward.

"And, of course, now what will happen if others come forward, people will say 'Oh, you're jumping on the bandwagon' and stuff like that."

Clearwater said changes needed to be made surrounding name suppression laws in New Zealand.

"It's time we really looked at our laws in New Zealand because they certainly help the perpetrator rather than they do the victim survivors."

A jury took three hours to come back with unanimous guilty verdicts to all eight charges of indecent assault after a week-long jury trial in the Auckland District Court last August.

Party's response

After Jago's name was made public on Friday, the ACT Party put out a release saying it took immediate action after learning he had been charged with sexual abuse.

The statement said the party had taken the original allegation "extremely seriously" when first made aware of it in November 2022.

"We took immediate steps to check the authenticity of the claim and questioned him about it. He categorically denied the allegation.

"We were deeply shocked to learn that the complaint was real and a police investigation was underway."

The party said it sought guidance and advice from Paul Wicks KC as to the appropriate steps to take and followed that advice "to the letter".

"When we learned that Mr Jago had been arrested and charged we asked at once for his resignation from the board and the party, and accepted it. He has had no involvement with the party since this date."

ACT said it had no way of knowing of Jago's past before the allegations surfaced.

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