When Erin* went to police to report allegations of sexual offending she was not listened to, nor was she believed, with a young man’s sporting career prioritised over her, a review found. In an interview with RNZ, the woman speaks publicly for the first time.

For nearly 14 years Erin* tried moving on.

She went to therapy, she moved cities, she told herself police had done their job.

“I never thought there was anything more to it,” she says.

Later she decided she wanted to know why police had made the decision to not lay charges when she reported allegations of sexual offending in 2011.

“It felt really important for my healing to have a sense of autonomy, and just get some clarity, so that I could kind of put it in the past and move on.”

A review found the investigation was “poor”, that Erin was “not listened to and not believed” and that the young man’s “[sporting] career was prioritised over [Erin] and any offending against her”.

Erin says she was “shocked”, but also felt some validation when she saw the review.

“I’d spent half my life feeling like what happened to me wasn’t bad enough for the police to do anything, felt shame and blame,” she says.

“It was like no one had given me a second thought… no one cared about the impact on me. I just feel used and discarded, and I feel naive for believing in the police in the first place.”

The sportsman, who was 19 at the time, has been granted an injunction after he was approached by RNZ. The injunction means RNZ is not able to report his identity. However, it can be reported he is a sportsman.

It was June 2011 when Erin, then 16, walked into the Christchurch Central Police Station to report a historical sexual violation.

Erin said she had gone to a party with some friends in June 2010, when she was 15 years old. She remembered waking up the next morning without any clothes on next to a man who was 20 years old.

She said the following day she was contacted by another man she knew, a sportsman, who told her she should have the emergency contraceptive pill as they had sex the previous night. At the time she could not recall having sex with him.

Erin told RNZ she went to police nearly a year after the incident as she had been struggling with PTSD symptoms.

“I had a boyfriend who was the first person I disclosed it to, who encouraged me to talk to my parents, and then my dad asked me if I wanted to go to the police, and by that point I did.”

Erin says she didn’t know what to expect when she spoke to police.

“I just assumed that the police look after you and do the right thing.”

The police investigation did not result in any charges, with police saying there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a prosecution against either man.

“I never heard from police again, I never saw them again, and I was just left feeling like what had happened, they didn’t view it as serious enough. I was left feeling like what happened to me wasn’t a big deal,” Erin says.

Erin says what happened had a significant impact on “every aspect of my life”.

“My whole relationship with my body changed, I felt unsafe within my own body. I felt unsafe within the world around me.”

Her attendance at school dropped, and she says she felt anxious and depressed. Eventually she moved cities, and was in therapy on and off.

She subsequently decided she wanted to know why police had decided there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute.

“I just accepted it [at the time], because I wanted to move on with my life.

“But as an adult, it felt really important, like, for my healing to have a sense of autonomy, and just get some clarity, so that I could kind of put it in the past and move on.”

Erin initially met with two police officers in person to discuss the investigation.

“Some things that they said just didn’t add up… they were talking about my file and some details they explained were just false … that just made me start wondering that the way it had been documented wasn’t what I had reported.”

Erin then requested police review her file.

The review, by Detective Inspector Scott Anderson, was damning.

“It cannot be considered a quality investigation,” Anderson said.

After an initial “scoping interview” with Erin the file was received by Detective Sergeant Darren Folau from the Child Protection Unit who contacted Erin’s parents for a meeting.

Folau then conducted inquiries into the suspects with sexual conduct with a person under 16 years old as the offence in mind, before Erin was interviewed and the details of her complaint recorded, Anderson said.

Folau’s inquiries revealed that the 20-year-old had left New Zealand for Australia in March and had not returned.

Then Folau spoke to the sportsman, then 20, in the presence of his parents at their home.

“It is recorded that [the sportsman] had an honest belief that [Erin] was 16 as she is his sister’s best friend, and his sister is 16,” the review said.

Anderson said Erin’s evidential interview created “a number of lines of inquiry” that should have been pursued prior to [the sportsman] being interviewed.

Anderson said that while there was “absolutely no criticism” of Erin reporting approximately one year later, it did preclude some lines of inquiry such as a medical examination, search warrants for messages and photos from the men’s phones and statements from witnesses in relation to the complainant’s intoxication state.

In Folau’s five-page report on the investigation, seen by RNZ, he concluded that he did not believe any sexual activity took place between the complainant and the 20-year-old.

In relation to the sportsman, Folau said he believed he had “formed sufficiently reliable grounds” at the time to believe the complainant was 16.

This included that [the sportsman] believed she was the same age as his sister, who was friends with the complainant, who was at the time over 16. Folau said at the time of the incident the complainant was 15 years and 7 months, and [the sportsman] was 18 [he was actually almost 20].

Folau had told the complainant’s parents that his recommendation was that no prosecution could take place.

“The view of [the complainant] is that [they] only wanted the matter brought to [the sportsman’s] attention that at the time of sexual intercourse, she believed she could not have been in the frame of mind to consent, although that cannot be forensically established due to the time delay of the reporting.”

Folau then said the sportsman had just been offered a contract to play sport professionally “and it appears that he has a promising career as a professional athlete”.

“I believe this to be an occasion where alcohol is a factor for both [the sportsman] and [the complainant], where it has impaired good judgement.

“It cannot be established in any way whether consent was an issue or not for both parties. I am of the firm belief that there is a defence available for [the sportsman] in relation to the charge of sexual conduct with a girl under 16 years.”

Folau said his recommendation was that there be no prosecution against the sportsman, “however a warning would be appropriate”.

Anderson said in his review that it was a “poor investigation” and that the complainant deserved an apology.

“It appears that [Erin] was not the centre of this investigation, not listened to and not believed.”

Anderson said the “red flag” was that on the evening of the party the complainant and the sportsman’s sister were 15, not 16.

“[The sportsman] would have known that his sister was 15 years old… he does not have the defence that he believed [Erin] was 16 years old, the same age as his sister.”

Anderson added that it appeared no fact checking had been done prior to speaking to the sportsman.

“This is in part due to this being done prior to [Erin’s] EVI.”

Anderson said that the sportsman did not appear to have been treated as a suspect.

“There is no record of a suspect recorded interview on the file, being spoken to in front of his parents given that he was 20 years old, also the fact that he was spoken to as a suspect before [Erin’s] EVI does not follow best practice.”

Anderson said both men were criminally liable for sexual conduct with a young person under 16.

“Although investigations such as these are difficult and not helped by being historic, objectivity is the key.

“It is my opinion that DS Folau had formed his belief that no prosecution was going to be proceeded with very early on, and his report is reflective of that. It is my belief that [the sportsman’s sporting] career was prioritised over [Erin] and any offending against her.”

When Erin first saw the report she says she was struck with a wave of emotions, mainly shock, but also validation.

“I’d sensed something was off, and then it turned out to be a lot worse than I thought.”

She says she also felt angry and hurt at how police had treated her.

“I’d spent half my life feeling like what happened to me wasn’t bad enough for the police to do anything, felt shame and blame…

“I felt grief for all the time I’d lost thinking about it, trying to work through it, and that men in positions of power and institutions protect one another… It was like no one had given me a second thought, no one had cared about the impact on me. I just feel used and discarded, and I feel naive for believing in the police in the first place.”

Police are now re-investigating her complaint from 2011. Erin says she’s not holding onto any hope that charges will be laid.

“I don’t have much trust in them as an organisation anymore, but I feel that I owe it to my younger self to have the investigation carried out, that’s what I wanted back then, and I don’t have anything to lose.”

The Independent Police Conduct Authority have also told Erin that police are also investigating Folau to determine any attempts by him to pervert the course of justice.

Territorial Superintendent Ross McKay confirmed in a statement to RNZ that police had reopened an investigation into historical claims of sexual assault dating back to 2010, after an initial review in 2025 found “concerning management of the original file”.

“An independent investigation team from another district is now leading the reinvestigation, and review into the handling of the original inquiry.”

The sportsman said in a brief statement to RNZ he understood police were re-investigating the matter.

“So, it would be improper of me to make any comments at this stage. I have complete trust in the police.”

RNZ approached Folau for comment on Wednesday. He said he was “not in a position to make any decisions or commentary”.

In response to further questions, Folau said because of the little information he had, he did not think he could make any comments.

“The context I have is that I understand a review of an historical case is underway.

“I am comfortable that any recommendations I may have had input into will have been evidence based.”

Erin says given what she’s endured she’s “sceptical” whether anything will actually happen as a result of the investigations.

But she’s adamant that she wants change. She also wants organisations that support survivors of sexual violence to be better funded.

The final question in Erin’s evidential interview in 2011 was what she wants to happen.

The then 16-year-old was quoted as saying “I don’t want any young girls to go through that.”

The now 31-year-old Erin feels the same way.

“No one should be made to feel like their experience isn’t important enough… it takes so much to be able to go to the police and report it.

“They should have it looked into fairly, and they should be believed, and when things like this happen, it just stops people from coming forward.”

She also wants some accountability and for police to publicly apologise for how she was treated.

“It’s been so long that I know what happened, and I feel that I don’t have to prove that to anyone anymore. I am ready to move on. I don’t really have much faith that it will go anywhere, and I guess, what’s more important to me is that the police themselves are accountable, because it’s about so much more than what happened to me that night.

“It’s about the fact that they didn’t even care what happened to me that night, they cared more about a young man’s [sporting] career. It’s important to me that Darren Folau is held accountable, and then the police themselves are held accountable more so than me being put up on a stand proving what happened, because I don’t have to prove that to anyone, I know what happened.”

As for the sportsman, Erin says he’s not worth her energy anymore.

“I’m sick of feeling angry, I’m sick of feeling hurt. I just don’t want to give him any more of my life.

“It’s hard to accept… he has been able to do all the things he dreamed of, and everyone dreamed of for him.

“Whereas I feel in some ways my life is just beginning, I’ve lost so much time just trying to work through it. Seeing him pop up over the years on the news and stuff, I’ve wondered, what could I have achieved if it hadn’t happened. I’ve come so far, I’m really proud of the life that I’ve created, I’ve got so much joy, so much love in my life, but it feels unjust.”

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