The police prosecutor in charge of the case against an Auckland man charged with infecting another man with HIV says the police are confident no further alleged victims will emerge. In an Auckland District Court hearing this afternoon the court reviewed submissions from media including GayNZ.com Daily News asking to be allowed to photograph or film the proceedings. GayNZ.com had suggested that one reason for identifying the defendant as soon as legally possible was that other alleged victims might emerge based on our coverage to the national gay community. This was based on our reporters' experience of reporting the 2009 case of Auckland man Glenn Mills who ended up facing a raft of charges regarding infecting or endangering multiple gay sex partners. However, the police say there is very little likelihood of there being other victims and did not support media requests to photograph the proceedings. File photography has been disallowed and the suppression order covering the identities of both the complainant and defendant will continue, particularly as any even indirect identification of the complainant could lead to his personal and medical information being revealed and to social isolation.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 21st April 2015 - 3:22pm