Veracity of complaint — evidence of previous police complaints by complainant — Best v R [2016] NZSC 122 — Criminal Procedure Act 2011, s 101 — Evidence Act 2006, ss 8(1), 37, 44. The defendant faced charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and indecent act with intent to offend. He applied to admit as evidence two previous police complaints by the complainant - one of rape, one of aggravated robbery. Neither of these complaints led to any arrests, and the defendant argued that they cast doubt on the complainant's veracity. Also he argued that the rape complaint was evidence of the complainant's prior sexual experience. The Crown opposed the application, arguing that there was no evidence to suggest the prior complaints were false, the complaints were not helpful in assessing the complainant's veracity, and the rape complaint was not sufficiently relevant to the facts in issue. The issue for the Court was whether there was any evidence to suggest that either of the prior complaints were false. The defendant argued that it was highly unlikely that one person would have been the victim of three serious violent offences by different perpetrators in a short space of time. Also the previous complaints were inherently unreliable. The Court found that the defendant's submission that it was unlikely for the complainant to be the victim of three separate violent offences was speculative, noting that regretfully, the assertion that frequent victimisation is rare, may be untrue. Also there was no evidence that the previous complaints were false; further, the current complaint differed from the two previous ones as it was highly detailed and the complainant had cooperated with police. The application for orders admitting the complaints as evidence was declined. Judgment Date: 23 April 2018. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *