Five young men charged as part of an ongoing investigation into sexual allegations in Ōpōtiki have been remanded on bail and will next appear on 17 December at Ōpōtiki Court. All five currently have name suppression.
The men aged between 17 and 18 have been charged with Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Young Person under 16.
The men have links to Ōpōtiki, however according to Detective Inspector Mark Loper, there is no information to suggest the alleged offending occurred at the school, or that any school staff were involved.
In a Police statement issued after the arrest, Loper said, “This has been a very thorough and complex inquiry, and would like to acknowledge the support of the local community and thank them for their patience as we have worked methodically through the process to get us to this point.”