Iain McGregor/Stuff
In 2018, several women alleged to police they had their drinks spiked at popular Christchurch bar Mama Hooch. (File photo)
A major trial involving allegations of drink-spiking and sexual assault has been postponed to 2023 – four-and-a-half years after charges were first laid.
Four men, who are on bail with interim name suppression, will face a jury trial in the Christchurch District Court in February on charges involving more than 30 complainants.
The men were arrested in 2018 after women alleged their drinks were spiked at Mama Hooch, at the time a popular bar on Colombo St. Police allege some of the complainants were taken to another “inner city location” where they were sexually assaulted.
Stuff understands police first started investigating the allegations in late 2017.
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The four accused face more than 80 charges in total, which include rape, unlawful sexual connection, indecent assault, stupefying, supplying or administering ecstasy, making an intimate visual recording and aggravated wounding or injuring.
Suppression orders prohibit Stuff from reporting the reasons for delays in the court proceedings, including the latest adjournment of the trial date from August this year to February 2023.
David Walker/Stuff
Four men were arrested after multiple women alleged they had their drinks spiked at Christchurch bar Mama Hooch. Police alleged some of the complainants were also sexually assaulted. (File photo)
The bar formerly known as Mama Hooch rebranded as Gold Aroma under a new operator, but has since closed.
Speaking generally, Victim Support spokesperson Dr Petrina Hargrave said continuous delays in any court proceedings were far more than an inconvenience to complainants – “it’s actually re-victimising, especially for victims of sexual or family violence”.
“It’s a gamble for these victims to even report the crime in the first place, let alone follow through with the court process when they risk the pain of reliving what happened, not being believed, having to confront the offender, and even being blamed,” Hargrave said of the wider court delay issue.
Hargrave said the “huge” emotional and financial toll of delays in cases sometimes led victims to want to back out.
“If we don’t urgently remedy delays, which are endemic now across the justice system and compounded by Covid, we are likely to see victims unable to persevere and even more victims deciding it’s not worth reporting crime.”
Hargrave said a “culture shift” was needed including identifying the reasons for delays and addressing those causes.
“We could have more specialist courts for sexual violence, for example, so these cases are prioritised. Some of it is system management, but some of it is just basic human respect for the victim,” she said.
“Ultimately, the cost of not fixing delays will be enduring pain to victims and a society that is unsafe.”
