Why did sports star get to avoid media outside court?

A high-profile sportsman facing criminal assault charges was allowed to avoid media scrutiny outside court by being ushered in a back door by security staff, but the Ministry of Justice has revealed this was not approved beforehand.

The move is normally allowed through a pre-planned process, often when there is a heightened security risk or victim safety is in question, but no answers have been given as to why it was done in this case.

The sports star appeared in the Wellington District Court last week after an incident believed to have been sparked by a taxi fare dispute, which ended with him being bitten by a police dog.

The defendant, who now has interim name suppression, faced charges of assault with intent to injure, resisting police and causing loss by deception.

Before his appearance, he and two companions joined a queue outside the courthouse to go through security.

In high-profile court cases, it is common practice for journalists to wait outside the entrance to the court to ask parties for comment and photograph them entering the courthouse. This practice is legal, so long as any images are taken from public property and comply with suppression orders.

The Herald asked the sportsman for comment while he stood in line.

An older female relative of the man became agitated and told the Herald to “piss off”, shoving a reporter’s camera away.

A court security guard then came outside and escorted the man and his companions away from media and into court through a private back entrance.

After his court appearance ended, security staff also told waiting media the man had already left the courthouse, despite no sign of him having left through the front doors. About 10 minutes later, remaining reporters spotted the defendant coming out of the courthouse.

The sportsman has interim name suppression. Photo / Janhavi Gosavi

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the ministry could arrange for people to use alternate entrances to get into court in some circumstances.

“This is generally done through a pre-planned process and may be used to support victim safety, or where a heightened security risk has been identified,” chief operating officer Carl Crafar said.

However, in the case of the sportsman, Crafar confirmed the actions of the security guard were “not pre-planned”.

He said the sportsman entered and exited the court multiple times that day.

When the security guard told media the sportsman had left court, Crafar said that was accurate at the time and the guard did not know the man would be returning. This was despite no media seeing the man exit or re-enter in that timeframe.

“It was not intended to prevent media from reporting on court matters, and it is not the ministry’s standard approach to interfere with lawful media activity outside the court,” Crafar said.

Criminal defence lawyer and president of the Criminal Bar Association Annabel Cresswell told the Herald that, as far as she was aware, there was a “blanket rule” that everyone coming through a court had to use the same entrance.

“In my experience, this rule is strictly enforced.

“If some people manage to sneak through a back exit that would likely be by no one noticing they came through the wrong door,” she said.

Last year, former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was granted permission to slip out a back door after his sentencing for possessing objectionable material on his work devices.

The disgraced ex-cop was sentenced to nine months of home detention for possessing bestiality and child sex abuse images.

Media waited outside until court had closed for the day before discovering McSkimming had been whisked away through a different exit - though this was not a measure security staff took upon themselves.

A ministry spokesman said at the time the presiding judge had “exercised their discretion” to make an order allowing McSkimming to disappear unnoticed.

Judge Tim Black said the driver of his decision was his concern about the safety and security implications of “McSkimming waiting for a period of time in a public area while his documentation was being processed; and ... exiting through the main entrance”.

Janhavi Gosavi is a Wellington-based journalist for the New Zealand Herald who covers news in the capital.