Anonymous emails to a former top police officer demanded cash for hundreds of alleged sexual encounters
A series of anonymous emails sent to former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming demanded cash payments of "$600 for every sexual act" and urged him to "pay up and this will end," according to correspondence obtained by the New Zealand Herald.
The messages, sent in February 2024 from multiple Gmail accounts, form a key part of the background to the scandal surrounding McSkimming and a woman known as Ms Z, whose allegations of sexual offending prompted intense scrutiny of police conduct.
The Herald reported that the emails were among a tranche of messages linked to the case, some of which requested money in connection with an affair Ms Z says left her abused and ignored by authorities.
In one email sent on February 9, 2024, before police formally opened a criminal investigation into Ms Z's allegations, McSkimming was told he should "pay promptly" for the "free sex" he allegedly received "through deception" while married.
"Seems like you have more than enough to cover the costs, especially with the promotion," the email stated, referencing his appointment as Deputy Commissioner in April 2023, the Herald reported.
Eighteen minutes after that first demand, a second email from the same account spelled out the sum being sought: "$600 for every time [I was] deceived into performing any sexual act."
Over an hour and a half later, a follow-up message pressed the point: "pay up and this will end."
On February 10, another email, also obtained by the Herald, demanded that payment be made quickly.
"Please pay by the end of Monday for my services to assist with your little lull in your marriage," it read.
Further messages from different Gmail accounts escalated both the detail and the pressure.
On February 13, one email reiterated the demand for "$600 for every sexual act" and was followed moments later by a message that appeared to estimate the volume of encounters: "You can email my personal email for an account number and estimate around 300 times would do."
The pattern continued over subsequent days. On February 16, an email asked simply: "where's the payment?"
Two days later, on February 18, an anonymous sender expressed frustration that the affair had not led to the breakdown of McSkimming's marriage.
"Imagine wasting your life focusing on some guy who ... has every intention of staying married," the email said.
Further down the same chain, the tone shifted towards a proposed compromise: "Pay up for damaging my brain just like I make other s*** places pay for f***ing with me," one email stated, before another appeared to scale back the original demand.
"Maybe 600 for 100 acts is more palatable for you," it said.
Three minutes later, an email from a different address added: "Hey Jevon, $600 for 100 acts and then I will go away for good."
The Herald reported that five of the emails demanding cash were sent from the same Gmail address cited in an Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report, which quoted a February 9 email accusing McSkimming of rape and sent to him, former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, and Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
One of the email accounts used on February 18 was also the address Ms Z used to contact an IPCA investigator in January 2024, and was previously used to email Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Mitchell, and media, including the Herald.
Through her lawyer, Ms Z did not confirm or deny writing the emails when the Herald put a summary of the correspondence to her.
"I accept that not every step I took in raising my concerns was the right one," she said. "I struggled with the knowledge that he remained in a position of authority within the New Zealand Police, particularly given what he had done to me."
"I regret some aspects of how I sought to have those concerns addressed."
A former long-serving detective told the Herald that the volume and nature of the emails would inevitably affect investigative decisions.
"The credibility of a complainant is a big deal. When there are 300 emails coming in, and lots of allegations, it makes it really difficult to establish if we [police] are going to get this to court," the source said.
The emails, including those obtained by the Herald, would "colour" how police weighed whether a prosecution could meet the threshold of proof beyond reasonable doubt, the source added.
The IPCA's November report, which found "significant failings" in how police responded to Ms Z's concerns and criticised what it called an unquestioning acceptance of McSkimming's account, did not refer to the specific emails demanding payment that the Herald has now detailed.
A second IPCA report, examining whether the subsequent police investigation into alleged sexual offending and McSkimming's possession of objectionable images was "robust and appropriate," is still to come.
