Dunedin rugby player shared secret sex video with team-mates
Thomas Ryan, 24, is co-captain of Green Island Rugby Football Club's Premier 2 team "The Battlers" and has remained part of the team since charges of making and posting an intimate visual recording were laid in the Dunedin District Court last month.
And his coach Stu Turner confirmed to the ODT the player would not be stood down for this weekend's semifinal against Harbour, despite pleading guilty to the charges last week.
Mr Turner described the defendant as "[a] really good dude".
"I think [he's] pretty upset with everything that's going on and [he's] going to be getting punished enough as it is ... [stopping him from playing] would just be adding further punishment, I think," he said.
Green Island was named club of the year at the national rugby awards last year, just months after winning its first premier title in 46 years.
According to the club's website, its fundamental values were "family, pride, discipline, integrity and inclusivity".
Chief victims adviser Ruth Money could not comment on specific cases, but said sexual violence, in all its various forms, was a nationwide "epidemic".
"We have a long way to go in Aotearoa New Zealand to address harmful sexual behaviour and the attitudes within certain sectors of the community that enable it," she said.
According to court documents, Ryan and the victim met after consuming alcohol early on June 8 and returned to his home.
During the ensuing intimacy, the defendant, unbeknownst to the woman, took out his cellphone and recorded a five-second video.
Shortly afterwards, he posted the clip to the team's Snapchat group, which featured more than 30 people.
"Up the battlers," he wrote as the caption.
The victim only discovered what had happened when a partner of one of the group members sent the video to associates who recognised her.
Mr Turner said he was a member of the Snapchat group but had not seen the footage.
It was not only rugby players among the recipients, he said.
"There's probably 50% active guys and then just a bunch of randoms ... and there's guys from other teams that are in that group as well," Mr Turner said.
"[He] really regrets what [he's] done. And obviously, if [he] gets a charge on it, it's going to hang around forever."
An Otepoti Communities Against Sexual Abuse (OCASA) spokesman stressed the rate of sexual violence was growing.
"This affects our whole community and needs to be acknowledged and prevented at every level," he said.
"OCASA condemns all forms of sexual violence and would condemn any organisation that elevated the reputation and wellbeing of perpetrators over that of survivors."
In 2017, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) released its Respect and Responsibility Review, sparked primarily by reports a stripper was manhandled by Chiefs players at a boozy end-of-season party.
Then-chief executive Steve Tew said the organisation would focus on driving change, highlighting the sense of entitlement exhibited by some younger players as a specific area for work.
NZR failed to respond to questions by deadline.
Green Island chairman Brendon Hollows told the ODT he had heard about the incident but would not comment as the matter remained before the court.
Ryan's counsel Anne Stevens, KC, entered guilty pleas on her client's behalf last week, but asked that no convictions be entered.
She indicated there would be an application for a discharge without conviction at his sentencing in October.
For that to be successful, a judge would have to accept the consequences of a conviction for Ryan would be out of all proportion to the seriousness of his crimes.
— Rob Kidd, Court reporter
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Otago Daily Times
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- Otago Daily Times
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NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Marlborough teen's fatal tractor crash prompts safety improvements
Paul Leslie, one of the owners, said Jones showed up to work early every day and was a 'good little fella', who was 'good on machinery' and 'great with numbers'. The morning of his death, Jones and Leslie had travelled to Canvastown, where a paddock needed ploughing. The tractor was on site, and Leslie watched Jones do pre-start checks on the tractor before leaving him to complete the work with the understanding he would drive the tractor back to the business' premises in Linkwater once it was done. Later that morning, Jones was driving the tractor back to Linkwater on a winding section of Queen Charlotte Drive in Havelock, when he failed to negotiate a right-hand bend, crashed through a wooden barrier, and rolled down a steep bank on the left-hand side of the road. At the time of the accident, it was sunny and the road was dry, well-marked and in fair condition. The tractor did not have any mechanical faults. Coroner Rachael Schmidt-McCleave said the death was preventable and recommended installing a metal barrier. Photo / RNZ, Nate McKinnon Serious crash investigation and findings An investigation by the Tasman Police Serious Crash Unit found remnants of an ice cream, sausage roll and coffee inside the overturned tractor, while analysis of Jones' phone data showed he had been using Snapchat while driving, though he had placed his phone back into his chest pocket before the crash. Jones was likely distracted by eating, drinking and messaging on Snapchat as he negotiated the bend in the road, causing the tractor to crash through the barrier and down the bank, Schmidt-McCleave said. The senior constable who oversaw the crash investigation said Jones had not been wearing his seatbelt and, if he had, he 'more than likely would have survived'. Schmidt-McCleave said given the injuries described in the post-mortem, she did not have enough evidence to reach that conclusion. The crash investigator also said the wooden sightline barrier was not sufficient to prevent the tractor from crashing through, and had there been a metal or wire barrier at the curve in the road, it might have kept the tractor on the road and prevented the crash. He recommended Marlborough Roads should consider installing one. Marlborough District Council and the district's roading office, Marlborough Roads, advised the coroner it managed a roading network approximately 1500km long, much of it rural and mountainous, with around 250 sight rails in the region to delineate the road next to steep drop-offs. The council said it would be challenging to install a metal barrier at the site of the crash because of the steep terrain, as the deep anchoring required for barrier posts would be difficult. It deemed its current approach to road safety was adequate, including the use of sight rails, signage, line marking and appropriate speed management. Schmidt-McCleave recommended Marlborough District Council further consider installing a metal or wire rope barrier at the crash site and on similar bends on Queen Charlotte Drive, in order to reduce the chances of further deaths occurring in similar circumstances. The coroner also endorsed the Transport Agency's recommendations on driver distraction, which included encouraging motorists to turn their phone off when driving or using 'do not disturb' mode, and taking regular breaks rather than eating, drinking or smoking while driving.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Teen was eating, drinking, on phone before fatal tractor crash
A teenager who died after crashing a tractor was eating, drinking and using his phone before the vehicle left the road. Trenton Karl Jones, 18, died from severe head and neck injuries after the tractor he was driving crashed through a barrier and rolled down a steep bank on Queen Charlotte Drive near Cullen's Point in the Marlborough Sounds on 21 October 2021. In findings released on Tuesday, Coroner Rachael Schmidt-McCleave said the 18-year-old's death was entirely preventable. But she did recommend Marlborough District Council should install a metal barrier at the site to prevent similar deaths in future. "Had [Jones] been fully focussed on driving the tractor, and had he not been distracted by eating, drinking and messaging on his phone, he is likely to have been able to take evasive action to avoid crashing down the bank, or to safely negotiate the curve in the first place," the coroner said. Jones grew up in Tapawera, south of Nelson, and moved to Linkwater in 2020 to work for Leslie Bros Contracting. Paul Leslie, one of the owners, said Jones showed up to work early every day and was a "good little fella", who was "good on machinery" and "great with numbers". The morning of his death, Jones and Leslie had travelled to Canvastown where a paddock needed ploughing. The tractor was on site and Leslie watched Jones do pre-start checks on the tractor before leaving him to complete the work with the understanding he would drive the tractor back to the business' premises in Linkwater once it was done. Later that morning, Jones was driving the tractor back to Linkwater on a winding section of Queen Charlotte Drive in Havelock, when he failed to negotiate a right-hand bend, crashed through a wooden barrier and rolled down a steep bank on the left-hand side of the road. At the time of the accident, it was sunny and the road was dry, well-marked and in fair condition. The tractor did not have any mechanical faults. Serious crash investigation and findings An investigation by the Tasman Police Serious Crash Unit found remnants of an ice cream, sausage roll and coffee inside the overturned tractor, while analysis of Jones' phone data showed he had been using Snapchat while driving, though he had placed his phone back into his chest pocket before the crash. Jones was likely distracted by eating, drinking and messaging on Snapchat as he negotiated the bend in the road, causing the tractor to crash through the barrier and down the bank, Schmidt-McCleave said. The senior constable who oversaw the crash investigation said Jones had not been wearing his seatbelt and, if he had, he "more than likely would have survived". Schmidt-McCleave said given the injuries described in the post-mortem, she did not have enough evidence to reach that conclusion. The crash investigator also said the wooden sightline barrier was not sufficient to prevent the tractor from crashing through and had there been a metal or wire barrier at the curve in the road, it might have kept the tractor on the road and prevented the crash. He recommended Marlborough Roads should consider installing one. Marlborough District Council and the district's roading office, Marlborough Roads, advised the coroner it managed a roading network approximately 1500 kilometres long, much of it rural and mountainous, with around 250 sight rails in the region to delineate the road next to steep drop-offs. The council said it would be challenging to install a metal barrier at the site of the crash due to the steep terrain, as the deep anchoring required for barrier posts would be difficult. It deemed its current approach to road safety was adequate, including the use of sight rails, signage, line marking and appropriate speed management. Schmidt-McCleave recommended Marlborough District Council further consider installing a metal or wire rope barrier at the crash site and on similar bends on Queen Charlotte Drive, in order to reduce the chances of further deaths occurring in similar circumstances. The coroner also endorsed the Transport Agency's recommendations on driver distraction, which included encouraging motorists to turn their phone off when driving or using 'do not disturb' mode, and taking regular breaks rather than eating, drinking or smoking while driving.
