Tim Jago Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Former ACT Party president Tim Jago can now be named as the former political figure who abused teenage boys in the 1990s.
Jago indecently assaulted two teenagers he had been mentoring through a sports club between 1995 and 1999.
He's had name suppression since being charged in January 2023, preventing the media from identifying him during his trial last year.
Jago's lawyer Ian Brookie told the Court of Appeal his client was abandoning his name suppression fight this afternoon and the court has since confirmed the order has lapsed.
He maintains his innocence and this development does not affect his plans to appeal both his convictions and sentence.
It took a jury two hours to return unanimous guilty verdicts on all eight charges of indecent assault and Jago was later jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Jago had been the ACT party's president for nearly four years when he resigned from the role in late January 2023.
RNZ has already reported the party leader, who can now be identified as David Seymour, was told Jago was a "sexual predator" nearly three months before Jago stood down from the role.
ACT responds
In a statement, ACT said: "The events occurred 20 years before his involvement with the ACT Party begun and there was no way of knowing about his offending at the time. This is not a time for politics, it is a day of justice for survivors.
"The party took the original allegation extremely seriously when first made aware of it on social media in November 2022. We took immediate steps to check the authenticity of the claim and questioned him about it. He categorically denied the allegation. We were deeply shocked to learn that the complaint was real and a police investigation was underway.
"We sought guidance and advice from Mr Paul Wicks KC as to the appropriate steps we should take in this situation and followed that advice to the letter.
"When we learned that Mr Jago had been arrested and charged we asked at once for his resignation from the board and the party, and accepted it. He has had no involvement with the party since this date.
"Reviewing the party's handling of this matter, Mr Wicks KC advised that the steps taken by the board had been proper in the circumstances, and that the Board had properly discharged any obligations to the complainant and acted in accordance with the interests of justice.
"In the time that Mr Jago was a member and president of the party there were no indications of any wrongdoing.
"We respect the outcome of the court process and commend the courage of those who have come forward. We hope this verdict brings them some closure."
The abuse
It was the Crown's case Jago "took advantage" of the two teenage boys by giving them alcohol and abusing them when they were "intoxicated, vulnerable and alone".
Both complainants told similar stories; that they had got drunk at sports club events or social gatherings and woken up in bed with the defendant abusing them.
The police investigated one complainant's story in 1999, speaking to more than half a dozen witnesses and recording a statement from the defendant, but never charged Jago.
This complainant had told the police he'd been intoxicated at a social gathering and woke up in Jago's bed to find Jago squeezing his groin area and putting his own hand on Jago's pubic area.
This file was then pulled when a second complainant came forward in late 2022 after seeing Jago in a news article.
The second complainant told police he was assaulted on two separate occasions, where he had been drinking with Jago and others, become drunk and found himself in bed with Jago.
He told the police the man touched his penis, put his own penis on the complainant's anus and touched the complainant's anus with his hands.
The second complainant had not disclosed the abuse to the police when he had been contacted in early 2000, as part of the 1999 police investigation.
His lawyer Ian Brookie suggested the second complainant had made his allegations up because Jago had done well for himself in a political role.
Crown prosecutor Rebekah Thompson later pointed out this did not square with the fact the man had told his sister about the abuse in the 1990s.
Party leader warned Jago was "sexual predator"
David Seymour was told about the then-allegations of abuse nearly three months before Jago resigned as president.
A complainant's wife contacted Seymour about Jago through Facebook messenger on 7 November 2022.
In the first message, the complainant's wife writes: "Tim Jago is a sexual predator".
It generated an automated response from the account.
The next day, a staff member replied to the woman, writing "anything to back that up?"
Complainant's wife: "Yeah it was my husband."
Party staff member: "Sorry, I don't understand exactly what you're saying."
Complainant's wife: "My husband was sexually abused by your party president when he was a kid at [their sports club]. People like that shouldn't be in positions of power. Tim Jago is a predator."
Two days later, Seymour personally responds.
"Dear [complainant's wife]. Thank you for your message and I'm sorry it's taken a few days to get back to you. I do not normally personally check all messages. The allegations you have raised are extremely serious. The Party is considering its response. We will reply to you with our proposed course of action by the end of tomorrow. Yours sincerely, David Seymour"
The next day the complainant's wife thanked Seymour for his time on the matter and said she was looking forward to hearing back from him.
Seymour replied a few hours later.
"We believe the best way forward is to offer you the option of contacting a lawyer who will ask for you to detail any allegation your husband is making. Having heard the details from you, they will advise us on how to proceed further."
Seymour gave the woman the contact phone number of an employment lawyer, said she and her husband were "free" to contact them and added he hoped the pair found a satisfactory response.
"I'll pass this information to my husband who I have no doubt will contact [this lawyer] regarding this matter. This isn't an attack on your party, please understand, it's the man who you have as your president, in a position where he shouldn't be considering his past, and god forbid this happens to anyone else," the complainant's wife responded.
Ten days later, Seymour wrote back to the woman, saying they understood the employment lawyer had been trying to get in touch.
"We obviously want to give you and your husband every chance to make contact, but we cannot keep that open indefinitely. If you haven't heard from [the employment lawyer] please let me know. If you have, please get back to her. At some point, if we have not heard from you we will have to consider the matter closed."
The complainant's wife replied that day.
"Thanks for following up on this. After discussions with my husband and due to the serious criminal nature of this, he has gone to the police with this matter and they are conducting a full investigation.
"He was groomed from a young age by Tim Jago and if he can prevent that from happening to anyone else by finally speaking out then that's what he will do.
"He would like to become a survivor of this rather than a victim which is fantastic. I suppose the police investigation into this will help you make a decision about Tim Jago's future in your political party.
"As you stated earlier, these are very serious allegations and should be dealt with in the appropriate manner - the justice system."
The party leader responded: "Thank you for that update, we will inform the lawyer that they should not expect to hear back from you."
Jago was arrested and charged on 19 January 2023 and resigned on 26 January 2023, one day after his first court appearance.
Timeline
1995 - Jago indecently assaults 15-year-old
1997 - Jago indecently assaults same teenager
1999 - Jago indecently assaults second teenager
1999 - Second teenager makes police complaint, police investigate, no charges
7 November 2022 - Complainant's wife messages David Seymour
19 January 2023 - Jago arrested, charged and bailed
25 January 2023 - First court appearance
26 January 2023 - Jago reported as resigning as ACT president (Stuff)
19 August 2024 Jago's week-long jury trial starts at the Auckland District Court
26 August 2024 - Jury returns unanimous guilty verdicts to all eight charges of indecent assault
22 November 2024 - Jago sentenced to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment
31 January 2025 - Jago abandons appeal of district courts decision to decline him ongoing name suppression
Where to get help:
Victim Support 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - push 0 at the menu
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496
