Nelson mum frustrated by delays as court system faces backlog

A Nelson mum says she regrets reporting a crime to police because of the delays her son has faced while waiting to testify. He was the victim of an alleged crime in late 2021, but it won't go to trial until at least 2024.

The mum, who can't be identified, said she's found the process really frustrating.

"We were definitely not given any idea that it was going to take this long or we might not have done it," she told 1News.

She said getting information about what was happening is hard and it often felt like she was "going around in circles".

Her son, who is under 16 years old, witnessed a crime in late 2021 which the family reported to police. A man was charged with an indecent act in a public place and pleaded not guilty early in 2022, opting for a jury trial.

Numerous court appearances in 2022 were rescheduled and in January this year a trial date was set for September, but the court said that date was no longer suitable for the crown prosecutor.

The mum said: "That's been cancelled, and we have no idea why that's been cancelled".

In a statement, Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu said there are "complex reasons" for the time it has taken to bring this case to trial.

"The Court was able to offer two earlier trial dates but neither were suitable due to a combination of Crown and defence availability issues."

He also said the delay reflects the volume of work the District Court is dealing with across the county. "We are deeply concerned about delays and fully acknowledge the impact for everyone affected by the business of the court".

"The courts are full, the schedules are full, we don't have enough court rooms, we don't have enough judges," Victim Advocate Ruth Money said.

The Nelson mum said she wants to do the right thing but has found the delays challenging. She has stopped bringing it up with her son and "he doesn't really go back to where it happened".

Last month the detective in charge of the case emailed the mother and said: "As much as your lives have been put on hold, so has the defendant."

He said if she didn't allow her son to give evidence "you could be liable for covering the defendant legal costs".

Ruth Money said she had never heard of that happening before. "It seems quite bizarre given that the crown actually brings the prosecution not the victim".

"That seems like a very outrageous comment and one made to pressure a witness".

Police initially refused to comment as the case was before the courts but after further questions from 1News clarified the comment.

A spokesperson said: "There has been a miscommunication - it was never the Detective’s intention to infer that the family might be liable to costs. Any argument for costs is a matter between the defence counsel and the Crown".

Meanwhile the family in this case still doesn't have a date for the trial, but have been told it will be in 2024.