-
Source: Photos.com
A senior Waikato police officer has criticised his Crown Solicitor colleagues' handling of the prosecution of former Hamilton principal Martin Elliott.
Elliott, formerly of Fraser High School, was this month sentenced to 40 hours' community work after pleading guilty to two fraud charges.
But Hamilton-based fraud squad detective Simon Eckersley has expressed concerns about the way prosecutors handled the matter.
Elliott was initially facing more than 60 charges, reduced to around 30 as the matter was prepared for trial. Many of the charges rose from an independent audit by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers.
However, when the case returned to court on January 30, Elliott's counsel, Michael Reed QC, said his client would admit two charges.
The guilty pleas had been discussed with the Crown, he said.
In a letter obtained by the Waikato Times, Mr Eckersley tells key Elliott whistleblower Jim Branton that he was unaware of any "concessions" negotiated by the
Crown and signed off before Christmas.
Branton was a co-defendant on a number of charges faced by Elliott, but pleaded guilty and was dealt with by the courts last year.
In his letter, Mr Eckersley said: "The police did not discover [the reduced number of charges] had been determined until it was announced that Mr Elliott was to plead in court [on January 31].
"By that time the chain of events that had been put into place could not be unravelled."
Mr Eckersley's view, expressed in the letter, was that although it was not unusual for concessions to be made, "the concessions that were granted [in Elliott's case] went too far".
He said it was "somewhat anomalous that the offender [Elliott] who benefited from the fraud ... received a significantly less sentence".
"That personally leaves me with a very a bitter taste and I apologise for the situation that you have found yourself in. It is not something I am happy with."
Mr Eckersley said in the letter he was unhappy as he felt the public had an issue with his investigation and that his work was in question.
"Despite the unsatisfactory outcome to the matter it is important to recognise that Mr Elliott did ultimately admit he acted dishonestly, despite his numerous earlier protestations that he had done absolutely nothing wrong."
Crown solicitor Ross Douch, whose team handled the prosecutions, refused to comment on the case, including about why the charges were reduced to two, and the possible ramifications when approached by the Times.
Mr Reed also refused to comment.
The Solicitor-General is the chief executive of the Crown Law Office and is responsible for the prosecution of criminal jury trials and Crown representation in appeals against conviction and sentences.
A spokeswoman for Solicitor-General David Collins said his office was unaware of any issue and would not necessarily be informed regarding individual crown solicitor offices as they were regarded as private law firms.
The Solicitor-General would only be made aware of issues regarding the crown solicitor "warrant holder" themselves, in this case, Ross Douch.
"It's a matter for the individual law firm to deal with," she said.
Latest NZ News Video
-
ONE News Minute 9am update: May 26 (1:00)
-
Kids cough up $14m for Government (1:50)
-
Education ministry 'barbaric' (1:55)
