Kaitaia man remanded in custody

Thursday, 18 September 2014 - 4:36pm

Northland

A 56-year-old Kaitaia man has been remanded in custody in relation to sexual offence charges.

Michael Harris appeared in the Kaitaia District Court this afternoon on a number of charges including:
• Aggravated Wounding (drugging of a victim to facilitate an indecent assault)
• Making of intimate visual recordings
• Possession of intimate visual recordings
• Indecent Assault

The charges related to 16 adult male victims who stayed at the Main Street Lodge in Kaitaia. They were mostly overseas tourists aged between 18 and 25.

Harris was remanded in custody to appear again in court on October 23.

Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston says Police are continuing to work through a large amount of information and are speaking to several potential victims as part of Operation Snap.

The inquiry team has been working virtually around the clock to speak with potential victims based overseas. The team also has a large amount of electronic forensic material to work through.

Mr Johnston says due to the complex nature of the case and logistical aspects, inquiries are likely to take some time.

He says police are likely to lay further charges as the inquiry progresses.

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