Auckland District Court Name suppression for the Auckland man accused of of infecting another man with HIV will continue until at least the end of the month, due to concerns the trial might not proceed if he is publicly identified. The 48-year-old is facing one count of causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard and another of committing a criminal nuisance by doing an unlawful act. Judge David Sharp acknowledged concerns expressed by both the prosecution and the defence that public identification of the defendant would easily lead to identification of the complainant. The police prosecutor argued that should the complainant feel he was risking being identified he would withdraw his complaint and the trial would be abandoned. The defence also argued that the results of DNA tests, to indicate the likelihood of the HIV contracted by the complainant originating from the defendant, are not yet available and might have a major impact on whether the trial proceeds. The judge accepted that identification of the complainant would happen as a matter of course if the defendant is identified and noted that for cultural reasons he would be likely to be subject to significant social isolation. The suppression order is to continue at least until the defendant's next court appearance. The judge decided to disallow filming or photography of the defendant by the media including GayNZ.com Daily News for the time being.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 21st April 2015 - 2:18pm