Ex MP charged with indecent assault

The HoS reports:

The national figure who has appeared in court accused of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old girl can be revealed as a former MP.

The man, who has interim name suppression to protect the girl’s identity, was remanded on bail without plea during a brief appearance in Nelson District Court on Thursday.

He is charged with indecently assaulting a girl aged between 12 and 16.

His bail conditions include living at an address away from his home town, avoiding contact with his partner and the alleged victim, and not possessing or obtaining firearms.

While understanding the need to protect the alleged victim, I think it is incredibly unfair to have name suppression, as the occupation is so rare, it means innocent people get assumed to be the person charged. Much the same as with the ex All Black in Fiji (now named as Robin Brooke).

There are only three to five ex MPs I know of in Nelson. One of them I can rule out due to details in the story.  It really is unfair on those ex MPs that the innocent ones will have to endure dozens of people speculating or even asking if they are the person charged