By Tara Shaskey, Open Justice multimedia journalist
The promising rugby player involved in creating and sharing a video covertly taken of a threesome he and his rugby mate had with a woman in a shower can now be named.
Leslie Topia Barrowcliffe, of Taranaki, was selected for the Chiefs under-20s squad this year, and has been a stalwart of Taranaki age group teams since his early teens.
Last year he captained the Taranaki under-19s and this year he was named Clifton Rugby Club’s most outstanding player for premier men.
Barrowcliffe, 20, appealed to the High Court that his potential career as a professional rugby player could be destroyed, if his convictions relating to the incident were not overturned and his name permanently suppressed.
However, Justice David Boldt dismissed Barrowcliffe’s appeal. He stated the offending was now part of his background and that if the New Zealand Rugby Union, and its sponsors, seek to present their players as objects of admiration, it would be wrong for the courts to be complicit in concealing information which may be relevant to that narrative.
Following the unsuccessful appeal, another interim name suppression order was made on the indication Barrowcliffe may take his case to the Court of Appeal.
However, that order has now expired and the Court of Appeal has confirmed an application to appeal has not been filed.
Barrowcliffe’s rugby career came under threat following an incident last year where he and his rugby mate, Trent Pickering, engaged in a threesome with a woman which they filmed without her knowledge. That video was then shared to a social media group featuring rugby players from across Taranaki.
Jimmy Fastier, Taranaki Rugby Football Union’s (TRFU) chief executive officer, condemned the men’s actions.
He said Barrowcliffe and Pickering were not contracted National Provincial Championship representative players but both play club rugby within the union and Barrowcliffe was a member of the TRFU Academy this year.
Now that the court process was complete, Barrowcliffe had been removed from the Academy programme, Fastier told NZME.
“Taranaki Rugby firmly stands against this type of behaviour and condemns the actions of the individuals involved.”
A statement from the Chiefs Rugby Club also denounced the men’s actions.
“Due to name suppression, the club was unaware of the player’s involvement when he was selected as part of this year’s U20s team.”
It is understood he is no longer a part of the Chiefs squad.
Barrowcliffe has told the court he felt “utterly embarrassed and sick” about the incident and was “devastated” at the impact it has had on the victim. He acknowledged the irony in his seeking to suppress his identity because of the harm he may suffer.
The incident resulted in the woman, in her 20s, leaving the country to avoid anyone who may have seen the video. She told the court she felt violated, embarrassed, angry, and betrayed. She felt that her reputation had been tarnished.
A plea for anonymity
Barrowcliffe was sentenced in July to 12 months’ supervision and ordered to pay $1500 reparation on admitted charges of making an intimate visual recording and publishing that recording.
Judge Gregory Hikaka had declined his bid for a discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression at the New Plymouth District Court sentencing.
However, defence lawyer Kylie Pascoe immediately indicated Barrowcliffe would challenge the outcome and the judge granted interim name suppression pending the appeal.
At the appeal in August, she submitted Judge Hikaka had underestimated the indirect consequences of a conviction which would undoubtedly blight Barrowcliffe’s promising rugby career.
Olivia Boivin, for the Crown, emphasised that nobody has come forward to say his rugby career would be derailed, or even seriously affected, if his conviction was affirmed or his name was published.
“[He] has continued to be selected for age group teams in the 12 months since the offending, despite the video having circulated widely in Taranaki rugby circles,” she said.
Justice Boldt could not find any errors in Judge Hikaka’s approach and dismissed the appeal.
“I agree with Judge Hikaka about the need to denounce and deter offending of this kind.
“[Barrowcliffe’s] offending was characterised by a number of features which are all too common, especially among young men, including heavy intoxication, a toxic and dehumanising culture and contempt for a vulnerable victim.”
He said there was no evidence of “any opprobrium” being visited upon Barrowcliffe by his peers or within the rugby establishment.
The sex act and the video
The drunken events that led to the court case happened on August 5 last year around 3.30am at a New Plymouth home.
Barrowcliffe, Pickering, the victim and a friend of the victim engaged in sexual activity together in a bedroom.
After this, the woman went to have a shower and was followed into the bathroom by Pickering, who previously played for the Taranaki Development team and the Southern Rugby Club’s premier squad.
Barrowcliffe joined them in the bathroom and also took his phone.
The three agreed to further sexual activity while in the shower and as this played out, Pickering grabbed Barrowcliffe’s phone and hit record.
In the video, Barrowcliffe grinned at the camera, waved a “hang loose” sign and then high-fived Pickering.
The woman could not see what they were doing and did not consent to the activity being recorded.
The following day, Pickering texted Barrowcliffe and asked him for the video.
After receiving it, Pickering posted it to a Snapchat group featuring premier rugby players from across the region, and it quickly became a talking point at a rugby party that night.
On August 7, the woman found out about the video and messaged Pickering and Barrowcliffe but they both denied it existed.
Subsequent messages between the men showed they encouraged each other to continue denying it existed and to delete the video and screenshots from their phones.
When the woman pressed the men to come clean, Pickering sent derogatory messages to Barrowcliffe about the woman.
“Yo g. We aren’t getting caught we all good. F*** that hoe.”
Barrowcliffe responded with “Yo” and a laughing face emoji.
But by that point, the woman had obtained a copy of the video from her friend and taken it to police.
At sentencing, Judge Hikaka found Pickering’s culpability was higher than that of Barrowcliffe’s.
The judge sentenced Pickering, 32, to eight months of home detention and ordered he pay $1500 emotional harm reparation.
