The Star: February 16, 2023
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of ‘charade’<br />
Bulger asked the doctor if the<br />
haemorrhages could have been<br />
caused without the officer holding<br />
the woman in place as she<br />
had claimed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> doctor said it was possible<br />
the injuries could have been<br />
sustained without someone being<br />
held in place, but she thought if<br />
someone’s airway was blocked,<br />
they would have pulled away if<br />
they could.<br />
A pre-recorded interview was<br />
played to the court of the officer<br />
being interviewed after the complaint<br />
was made.<br />
<strong>The</strong> officer said the woman<br />
didn’t show any signs of wanting<br />
to stop during the hotel room<br />
encounter and when she vomited<br />
it caught them both by surprise.<br />
He said after she vomited, they<br />
stopped straightaway, got her<br />
cleaned up and after about 15<br />
minutes, continued to have sex<br />
before falling asleep.<br />
He said some of the messages<br />
he had sent her leading up to the<br />
sexual encounter came across as<br />
“worse than what actually happened”<br />
on the night.<br />
While he messaged her saying<br />
things such as “I’m likely to slap<br />
you hard and be rough” he said it<br />
was made clear that if the woman<br />
wanted to stop then they would.<br />
He said over the 48 hours after<br />
the encounter her eyes were<br />
bloodshot, which he accepted<br />
might have been caused by the<br />
sexual activity, but said at no<br />
point did she try to pull away or<br />
stop the encounter.<br />
<strong>The</strong> court martial trial is likely<br />
to finish today.<br />
SEXUAL HARM<br />
Where to get help:<br />
If it’s an emergency<br />
and you feel that you<br />
or someone else is at<br />
risk, call 111. If you’ve<br />
ever experienced sexual<br />
assault or abuse and<br />
need to talk to someone,<br />
contact Safe to Talk<br />
confidentially, any time<br />
24/7:<br />
• Call 0800 044 334<br />
• Text 4334<br />
• Email support@<br />
safetotalk.nz<br />
• For more info or to<br />
web chat visitsafetotalk.<br />
nz<br />
Alternatively contact<br />
your local police station.<br />
If you have been sexually<br />
assaulted, remember it’s<br />
not your fault.<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
• By Emily Moorhouse<br />
WHEN ADAM Letchford<br />
was caught with stolen meat<br />
and a quad bike in a truck he<br />
pinched from a primary school<br />
his explanation was simple: He<br />
had been kidnapped by gang<br />
members.<br />
He told police he had been put<br />
in the back of the truck by the<br />
gang members, who he said later<br />
stopped the vehicle on the side of<br />
the road.<br />
When the gang members took<br />
off, abandoning the truck, that’s<br />
when Letchford jumped out from<br />
the back, hopped into the front<br />
seat and drove off, he claimed.<br />
But his tall tales didn’t wash<br />
with police and the 37-year-old<br />
was charged with the thefts.<br />
When he appeared in the<br />
district court he had a change of<br />
heart and admitted the offending.<br />
According to the summary of<br />
facts, on December 4 last year<br />
around 10.30pm, Letchford<br />
entered Burnside Primary School<br />
which at the time had an area of<br />
it under construction.<br />
Letchford cut a hole in a fence<br />
that was securing the construction<br />
site and broke into a truck.<br />
He removed the vehicle’s GPS<br />
and pulled its ignition.<br />
After cutting a padlock, Letchford<br />
drove the truck out of the<br />
area, damaging the school’s gate<br />
and plants in the process.<br />
At the time, he did not hold a<br />
valid New Zealand driver licence<br />
and had been verbally forbidden<br />
by police from driving.<br />
Letchford headed to Kaikoura,<br />
arriving at a farm about 3.45am.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re, he unlatched the metal<br />
gate and drove into the shed area.<br />
He loaded items on to the truck<br />
such as a quad bike, three boxes<br />
of meat, a firearms safe with<br />
locked compartments, firearms<br />
magazines and ammunition, a<br />
270 Winchester bolt-action rifle<br />
and three .22 rifles.<br />
Letchford left the farm and<br />
was heading south towards<br />
Christchurch when the truck was<br />
Thursday <strong>February</strong> <strong>16</strong> <strong>2023</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong><br />
COURT 15<br />
Thief with quad bike and<br />
meat tells kidnap tale<br />
PHOTO:<br />
GETTY<br />
recognised by two witnesses who<br />
had seen a Facebook post made<br />
by its owner.<br />
<strong>The</strong> police were also called.<br />
Letchford stopped the truck in<br />
Waipara and got out, spending<br />
some time in nearby bush before<br />
he was approached by the witnesses.<br />
Police arrived shortly after and<br />
arrested Letchford. <strong>The</strong>y found<br />
the stolen quad bike and meat in<br />
the truck but the firearms and<br />
ammunition were not recovered.<br />
Letchford told police he had<br />
been kidnapped but he was<br />
charged with burglary, entering<br />
agricultural land without authority<br />
and being an unlicensed<br />
driver failing to comply.<br />
He was remanded into custody<br />
ahead of his sentencing on<br />
May 10.<br />
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