Source : the age
Victoria Police have completed an investigation into claims by Liberal MP Moira Deeming that she was assaulted by her party room colleague Matthew Guy and concluded the former party leader has no case to answer.
The police investigation into claims by Deeming that Guy assaulted her last month at a community function was wrapped up on Thursday after video footage from the night was produced contradicting Deeming’s allegation of a violent assault.
Police did not question Guy as part of their investigation.
“These claims were ridiculous and unsubstantiated, just as the police found,” Guy told this masthead.
While Deeming claimed that Guy assaulted her by putting her in a violent headlock as the pair were seated at a table during a Macedonian community function in Sunshine West, the footage showed an innocuous interaction in which the pair lean forward to hear one another in a noisy room.
CCTV footage from inside the venue seemingly shows Guy briefly resting his right hand on Deeming’s shoulder. Deeming alleged that Guy roughly grabbed her on the back of the neck. The investigating police said there was no evidence that a crime had been committed.
“Police have concluded an investigation following reports of an assault at a function venue on Sommerville Road in Sunshine West on 23 May,” Victoria Police said in a statement released on Thursday night.
“It was reported a woman was assaulted by a man at the event.
“Following a thorough investigation, it has been determined there was no offence detected.”
Deeming, who is currently in London, was contacted for a response.
A senior Liberal source welcomed the speedy resolution to what appeared, on the basis of the video footage, to be an unfounded complaint.
Deeming made a complaint to police on June 16 after first approaching Opposition Leader Jess Wilson’s office with her allegations. Wilson’s office stressed that if it was a criminal matter, Deeming should go to police. Guy vehemently denied to colleagues that anything untoward happened at the dinner.
The completion of the police investigation will shift the focus from Deeming’s unsubstantiated allegations to what the party should do, if anything, about her conduct in making the complaint. She has not publicly explained the discrepancy between her version of events and the video footage.
One Liberal MP said there was “white-hot anger” among colleagues about what Deeming had done, and they expected the party to take action.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Even MPs who supported Deeming throughout her previous dispute with the party and former leader John Pesutto have now distanced themselves from the upper house MP, who was recently pre-selected to stand again as a Liberal candidate in the Western Metropolitan Region.
Shortly before Victoria Police released its statement, Andrew Deeming took to Twitter to defend his wife.
“As a man, I would never grab a woman by the back of the neck,” he wrote.
“And as a husband, keep your f—ing hands off my wife.”
Wilson, who is campaigning in Mildura, declined to comment on the allegations while the police investigation was underway. She is expected to address the latest imbroglio surrounding Deeming on Friday.
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Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He previously served as the paper’s chief reporter and is a journalist of 30 years’ experience.Connect via email.
