Warning: This story includes details of sexual offending
New Zealander Ronald Thompson, whose trial on sex charges against six complainants spanning 20 years was stayed because of his poor health, has left the country.
Thompson’s alleged victims are outraged he has gone overseas when he is supposedly gravely ill.
His family say his condition has not been overstated “on any level”, he is under palliative care and has “gone overseas to spend his final months in peace”.
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News of Thompson’s departure comes as police say six more people have come forward with concerns about him since details of the historical crimes he’s accused of were made public by Stuff a week ago.
Immigration NZ confirmed on Friday the 67-year-old left New Zealand on March 26, but would give no further details.
“I think it’s disgusting,” said one woman, who was 12 when she alleges Thompson, a former carpet salesman known for his cheap TV ads, tried to molest her in 1981. Other alleged incidents happened as recently as the early 2000s.
Thompson, who abandoned his fight for permanent name suppression earlier this month, vehemently denies the accusations.
The woman questioned how he could leave the country if he was terminally ill.
“You can’t get on a plane and go away and live somewhere else when you’re dying,” she said.
A man who alleges he was repeatedly raped by Thompson as a 15-year-old in about 2001 said Thompson leaving the country made a mockery of the system.
“If his health was that bad … they would not have allowed him on the plane. He’s gotten out of the country so he doesn’t have to show his face here any more.”
Police said in a statement they only became aware that Thompson had gone overseas on Thursday.
Detective Sergeant Olivia Meares, the officer in charge of the police investigation, said he left the country after the proceedings against him were stayed, but before his name suppression appeal in the Wellington High Court had been heard.
Meares said police “empathised” with the complainants’ frustration at Thompson’s travel and would continue to support them.
Police would not be considering further charges unless the circumstances changed, she said.
Judge Tony Zohrab stayed Thompson’s trial in Blenheim District Court last November, saying “this is one of those rare cases where the combination of all of [the accused’s] medical issues means that he cannot have a fair trial”.
Several doctors provided evidence about Thompson’s health situation. He was said to have advanced cardiovascular disease.
His GP said his condition made it “an extremely likely possibility” he could die if he continued to live under stress.
A cardiologist said there was a “high likelihood” that Thompson would experience prolonged or recurrent chest pain while appearing in court and need to be taken to hospital.
Another expert said Thompson had a “limited life expectancy measured in months” and the stress of a court hearing could place him at risk of a heart attack.
In a statement on Saturday, Thompson’s family said he was under palliative care and had “gone overseas to spend his final months in peace”.
His medical condition had not been overstated “on any level”. A number of medical professionals, including Crown-appointed specialists, had confirmed his condition, they said.
“He is aware of the media coverage and that has caused a deterioration in his condition.
“Mr Thompson’s family have been greatly affected and shocked by the allegations and wish to be left alone and in peace while they come to terms with what has been released through the media.”
Stuff reported this week that police charged Thompson with 18 counts of sexual offending against six complainants – male and female and aged in their mid to late teens – between 1981 and 2002. Charges included indecent assault and sexual violation by rape.
It’s alleged Thompson would groom young people with cigarettes and alcohol, get them alone and sexually abuse them.
We also reported how a young Noel Leeming worker, Kayla Henderson, was allegedly sexually harassed in the company’s Blenheim store by Thompson after she started working there in 2019, but her bosses did nothing.
Meares said six more people had come forward about Thompson since Stuff revealed details of the crimes he was accused of on Monday.
Most had made historical complaints regarding alleged sexual offending by him, while some expressed concerns about alleged sexual behaviours involving him or expressed concerns for others, she said.
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Police had offered them support services and explained the situation regarding charges.
One of the women to come forward this week told Stuff she was only 16 in the mid-90s when Thompson came into her orbit, through a relative.
He was laying carpet at her Christchurch home, and she had also hoped to get some work at his firm, Ron’s Discount Carpets.
“He used to say, ‘Do you want to be the lady on the ad?’ When you’re young you think, ‘Cool I’m gonna be on TV’.”
She said Thompson took her out to lunch a couple of times, and one time drove her to the top of the Summit Rd.
“I remember him parking … and putting his hand up …. to the window so people couldn’t see his face, and then he [asked] would I sleep with him for money?
“I was nervous, freaked out, I obviously said no. I’d only just turned 16. Then he said something like, ‘You can close your eyes and pretend I’m someone else’.
“I think he grabbed my leg.”
She managed to extricate herself from the situation, she said, and Thompson took her home.
She didn’t lay a complaint at the time, but contacted police after reading Stuff’s stories. Now with daughters of her own, she said she wanted to help in any way she could.
Another woman who contacted Stuff said she was 18 and Thompson was a fridge salesman for Fisher and Paykel in 1982 when he came into the business she worked at.
He offered to take her to lunch as a “treat” and she accepted. He then drove her to the top of a lookout and parked up.
“Next thing he just quickly grabbed me by the hand and tried to put his arm around me and kiss me.
“I leaped out the car door, he came around and tried to catch me to embrace me and I ran around the car and got back inside and locked all the doors.”
She said she let Thompson back in, as she couldn’t drive, and made him take her back to work. Her bosses laid a complaint about him, and she later heard he’d left Fisher and Paykel.
She got a shock when she saw an item on ThreeNews about Thompson allegedly harassing Henderson at Noel Leeming.
“It made me cringe and feel sick, just vulnerable again, I thought, ‘he’s still out there’.”
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
This article originally appeared on Stuff and is republished here with permission.
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