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Olympic gold medallist's teen sex trial begins

Author
Sam Hurley, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Mon, 12 Feb 2018, 2:21PM
Olympic gold medalist Arthur Parkin is on trial over allegations of indecent assault against young girls. (Photo / Brett Phibbs)
Olympic gold medalist Arthur Parkin is on trial over allegations of indecent assault against young girls. (Photo / Brett Phibbs)

Olympic gold medallist's teen sex trial begins

Author
Sam Hurley, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Mon, 12 Feb 2018, 2:21PM

The trial of Olympic gold medallist Arthur Parkin for alleged historic sex offences against young girls while he was playing for the New Zealand hockey team has begun.

Parkin is on trial before a jury in the Auckland District Court this week. Judge Robert Ronayne is presiding.

Parkin faces five charges against three complainants, whose identities are suppressed under statutory law, for indecent assault on a girl under 12 and indecent assault on a girl aged between 12 and 16.

Born in Whangarei, the 65-year-old's alleged offending occurred between 1975 and 1983 in Whangarei, Auckland and Coromandel.

Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney said Parkin abused three unrelated young girls on separate occasions.

She told the court Parkin touched them and forced them to touch him.

The three girls did not mention the alleged abuse to anyone, Culliney said.

"Parkin was a bit of a hero given he'd won a gold medal at the Olympics," she said.

Years later, two of the complainants were encouraged to lay a complaint with police by a person well-known to Parkin.

Police were eventually contacted in 2016.

After Parkin was charged, a third complainant came forward after seeing media reports about the allegations.

Parkin's counsel Arthur Fairley said in his opening statement there were competing narratives against all the allegations.

He went through every individual charge with the jury and said to each count: "That did not happen."

"In a broad sense, no, no, no, no, no," he said.

William Arthur Parkin is regarded as one of the country's most celebrated hockey players and was a three-time Olympian.

He won gold as part of the Black Sticks team at the 1976 Montreal Games.

In 1990 he was admitted to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame for his hockey feats.

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