NZ reggae artist General Fiyah detained in US and deported
RNZ
New Zealand-born reggae artist Lotima Nicholas Pome'e – aka General Fiyah – has been reportedly detained in the US and deported.
The young musician had been scheduled to perform at Polyfest, a major Pacific cultural festival held in Washington on Saturday.
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RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Bay of Plenty's Napoleon Eketone sentenced for indecently assaulting teen exchange student
By Hannah Bartlett, Open Justice Reporter of Napoleon Eketone had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent assault and was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court on Thursday. (File photo) Photo: SunLive Warning: This story deals with details of sexual assault and may be distressing. When a teen overseas exchange student came to New Zealand, she was "full of hope and fun-filled excitement". But while staying with a host family in the Bay of Plenty, the man who should have been offering her safety and hospitality in a foreign country, betrayed her trust, and that of her parents, by indecently assaulting her. Napoleon Eketone had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent assault and, today, was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court. According to the police summary of facts, Eketone and the teen had been at the family home, along with Eketone's children. The pair were in the kitchen, where the teen was washing dishes, and Eketone was drying them. Eketone moved closer and placed his hand on her waist, and then on her bottom over her clothes. He then left the kitchen to check on his children, before returning. Eketone asked the teen if she needed help, again placing his hand on her waist and bottom. After they finished the dishes, he asked her if she "liked massages and would like one later". He then asked for a hug, placing his arms around her, before moving his hands up the front of her body and touching her breasts over her clothing. The summary of facts said the girl felt uncomfortable and left the kitchen, later struggling to fall asleep for fear he would come into her room. At 4am, that fear was realised when Eketone opened her door, went in, and locked the door behind him. He led the teen out an exterior sliding door, taking her into the garage where he had already laid out a blanket on the floor. The teen used the light on her phone to see in the dark garage, and spied the blanket. Eketone asked her if "she'd like a massage", and she replied, "No, I want to leave". Eketone opened the door and let her out, and she went back to her room, where she immediately rang her mother. The mother's victim impact statement, provided to the court, said the call caused her to have a panic attack. She had been "hyperventilating" as she heard her daughter in distress, crying and clearly frightened. The woman got on a flight to New Zealand "as soon as possible", while her husband was back home and struggling to work as he was worried about what was happening. "This incident made our life upside down," the mother wrote. "It made us all exhausted physically and mentally. I was not able to sleep for a while. Even if I did, I woke up suddenly, and my heart started racing." She questioned why the incident had happened, and said she still felt angry. Her daughter had come to New Zealand "full of hope and fun-filled excitement". Judge Paul Geoghegan said the teen's experience should have been a "great adventure for a young person". Her family had relied on a host family to provide her with security, protection, care, and hospitality. Eketone had failed to do that, the judge said. In sentencing him, he said it had been a "gross breach of trust", and the victim had been "highly vulnerable" given her age, the fact she was from a different culture and a long way from home. Eketone, at 34 years old, had no previous convictions and was generally "well regarded". The judge said it was "most unfortunate" that Eketone had ended up before the court, having offended in this way. However, he wasn't given any discounts for personal factors but did get a 25 percent discount for his early guilty plea. The judge adopted a starting point of 16 months' imprisonment and, after applying the discount, arrived at an end sentence of 12 months' imprisonment. The judge commuted it to one of six months' home detention, with six months post-detention conditions. Lawyer Michael Douglas had sought a lesser sentence of community detention, arguing that Eketone's employer might be more inclined to keep him on if that were the outcome. The judge agreed it was desirable for Eketone to keep his job, particularly because of the impact on his family, and his ability to pay reparation. The judge said he "hoped [Eketone's] employers take that into account", but said he could not impose a sentence of community detention. It would not "accurately reflect the gravity" of the offending, and there must be some deterrence, particularly to anyone hosting a young person from overseas. An order was made for $4877 reparation to be paid to the parents of the victim, to cover the last-minute travel costs incurred. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Person in critical condition after Hamilton assault
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver A person is in a critical condition after an assault in Hamilton. Police say the person arrived at Waikato Hospital with what is thought to be a stab wound about 6.10pm. Police are at a property on Slim Street and are investigating the incident.
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson remains an undue risk, declined parole for the sixth time
By Tara Shaskey, Open Justice multimedia journalist of Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson's sixth attempt at parole has been declined. Photo: NZME / Michael Craig Warning:This story discusses sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers. Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson, who is serving jail time for sexually abusing several students, has been grilled on whether he has other victims he has yet to disclose. "Not to my knowledge. I would be very surprised if any other people come forward," Wilson told the Parole Board today. But panel convenor Judge Arthur Tompkins rejected Wilson's response, stating it was "not an answer". "What does that mean - 'not to your knowledge'?" he asked. Wilson repeated his response, claiming he was not aware of anyone else whom he had sexually abused, who had not already laid a complaint against him. Judge Tompkins reminded Wilson that previously, he had only admitted his offending in sequential stages, when confronted with credible accounts by victims as they spoke up. Wilson claimed he had repressed memories of his previous actions. He said he "didn't dwell" on the abuse he inflicted, and it was only on hearing accounts from his victims that he thought, "yes, there's truth to that". "I had put them [memories] away, I tried to move on." The panel pressed him on whether it was a possibility that Wilson had repressed memories of there being further victims. He said there was always that possibility, but repeated he would be "very surprised". One of Wilson's supporters spoke to the board about how Wilson had been reading the Bible and praying to God to reveal any abuse that he may be holding back. "And nothing has been revealed," said the man, who cannot be named. Dilworth School in Auckland has been linked to several historical sexual offending cases. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook Wilson, who worked at Dilworth from February 1971 until his resignation in December 1996, was arrested in 2020 as part of Operation Beverly, a long-running investigation into historical sexual abuse by several staff at the Auckland-based boys-only boarding school. He was jailed in March 2021 for three years and seven months for indecently assaulting five students between 1975 and 1992 - some of them more than once and over several years. Wilson was still in jail when he had one year and 11 months added to his sentence in August last year after belatedly admitting to having abused five others. At today's hearing, Wilson was denied parole for the sixth time, leaving him to serve most, if not all, of his prison sentence. The board determined he remained an undue risk and scheduled his next hearing for July next year. His statutory release date is 22 September 2026. If granted parole in July, he would be released with parole conditions. However, if he were again declined, he would serve the remaining two months of his sentence and then be served with release conditions. The outcome was welcomed by one of Wilson's victims, Neil Harding, who has fought to keep the former housemaster behind bars for the duration of his sentence. "It's really, really good. I'm really comfortable with that. I'm grateful to the Parole Board that they listened," Harding told NZME. Before the hearing, Harding made submissions to the board, imploring it to ask Wilson if there were other victims. He said he believed there were at least two other people who had yet to come forward. "Of course, if he were truly remorseful, he would tell the truth," Harding said. In his submissions, Harding pointed out that Wilson was part of the school's senior management and claimed Wilson played a significant role in covering up abuse by other parties, as well as his own offending. "The Royal Commission into Abuse in Care named Dilworth School first in institutions that had the highest prevalence of sexual abuse in New Zealand between 1950-1999. "Ian Wilson was responsible, along with others, for the cover-up of sexual abuse of hundreds of young boys." He said Wilson was "sadistic and inhumane" towards students and described him as "a monster". More than 40 former pupils have taken their own lives after the decades of abuse that went on at the school, Harding submitted. "The impact of [Wilson's] abuse, and the role he played, is incalculable." Wilson has denied knowing others were sexually abusing students. "He most definitely knew other paedophiles were active at Dilworth," Harding told the board. He said Wilson continued to lie, including when he claimed his offending ended, and when asked about further victims. Harding rejected Wilson's claims that he had reformed and was remorseful. "If you believe that he has been rehabilitated, then he has again duped and conned the system." At the hearing, Wilson's lawyer submitted that Wilson was an eligible candidate for parole, given that he had a support network that held him accountable, and had approved interim accommodation. Wilson's ill health, proposed special conditions, safety plan, and the treatment he underwent in prison were additional factors for consideration. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald . If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
