By Sam Sherwood of RNZ

The founder of a prisoner reintegration service has been charged with assaulting a woman who was on bail.

Billy Macfarlane says the allegations are “a whole lot of lies”, and that he “never assaulted anybody”.

RNZ earlier revealed Macfarlane, the Tikanga Aroro Charitable Trust general manager and founder of the Pūwhakamua rehabilitation service, faced allegations in relation to a woman who was on bail.

On Wednesday, a police spokesperson said a 62-year-old man had been charged with assault on a person in a family relationship.

He appeared in court on Tuesday and is due to reappear next month.

Court documents seen by RNZ allege Macfarlane assaulted the woman on February 26. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.

Corrections, which contracted the trust to operate Pūwhakamua, earlier told RNZ it had terminated the arrangement after it was notified of “serious” allegations.

Corrections began funding the service in November 2022. Since then, it had contributed about $3.9 million in ongoing funding, with a current agreement to provide $800,000 per year until 2027. About $880,000 of the $3.9m was part of a conditional grant for infrastructure upgrades.

Approached for comment on the charges, Macfarlane said he was going to take it to trial, saying he “never assaulted anybody” and calling the allegations “a whole lot of lies”.

He claimed the woman, who he was supporting, made a “false allegation” after he warned her that if her drug use did not stop he was going to move her.

“The whole summary of facts is a lie, not just that I assaulted her, the whole turn of events, she’s lied about the whole lot,” he said.

“The truth will come out... There’s a story to be told here, and you watch how this unfolds.”

- RNZ