Mon, 11 Jan 2010 5:48p.m.
UPDATED AT 8:00PM
Cameron Slater is already facing five charges connected with breaching suppression orders
By Michael Morrah & Angela Beswick
A prominent Auckland-based blogger has defied court suppression rules again, and revealed the identity of a national figure charged with indecently assaulting a teenager.
Police have confirmed Cameron Slater, who writes the blog Whale Oil, is being investigated for another deliberate breach of a suppression order.
Slater is already facing five charges connected with breaching suppression orders.
Lawyers say it’s appalling, but Slater, who makes around 10 posts a day from an office in South Auckland, says this latest breach may not be his last.
His blog is read by thousands of New Zealanders, and today’s breach may see him charged again.
“The laws are not working the way it was intended in 1985,” Slater says. “We need to get real.”
Nelson Bays police area commander Detective Inspector John Winter today said Slater's website was being investigated after he posted a coded message which, when converted, reveals the identity of a national figure who has been charged in Nelson with indecently assaulting a girl between the age of 12 and 16.
“In this case here, there is only a possible three or four people it could be,” Slater says. “It’s totally unfair to have name suppression for one of them and cast aspersions on the others.”
Mr Winter said such action in defiance of a court order was irresponsible and could lead to the identification of the victim the order was intended to protect.
3news.co.nz had the code analysed by one of our programmers, who confirmed it indeed does reveal the name of the accused and his former role.
Court documents show it is alleged the man touched the girl’s breasts and genitals on December 30, 2009.
The accused appeared in Nelson District Court last Thursday. He has interim name suppression.
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.
Slater says it was not difficult to learn the identity of the accused - he simply phoned the court.
“They just gave up the information with no identification, no nothing,” he says.
Slater was charged over other online blog posts made late last year, which police argued could lead to the identification of an entertainer and a former Olympian who had both been granted name suppression.
It is alleged Slater used cryptic images and a link to an online news article to reveal the identity of the accused.
Of his latest blog post, Slater says he is waiting to see what would happen.
“[The police] have got better things to do, don’t they?”
Current suppression laws prohibit the publication of the name, address, occupation, or any particulars likely to lead to any such person’s identification.
But Slater says he felt compelled to do it because of the “100 percent” support he received from readers over the Christmas break.
Lawyer Chris Comesky says Slater should work within the rules.
“If he got a lengthy prison sentence because of it he’d have no one else to blame but himself,” He says.
“He’s usurping the authority of the courts to consider all of the factual arguments for and against suppression.
“If he has a problem with the existing rules, he ought to talk to the politicians with a view to getting them changed.”
Police are yet to say whether Slater will face further charges over this latest incident, but Slater himself – due back in court next week – hasn’t ruled out naming more high profile defendants, and says he doubts police have sufficient evidence to convict him anyway.
3 News
