Mark Black says no evidence has been offered for the "heinous" allegation his deceased brother Te Awanuiārangi Black was a child sex abuser. "Anybody can make an accusation."

The sound of her wail penetrates the Tauranga hotel room walls as she lays out the accusations against her former husband.

Anihera Zhou Black, estranged wife of Tauranga Moana iwi leader Awanuiarangi Black, had just revealed that three alleged victims of her husband had told her about the sexual abuse they suffered two weeks before she "exposed" him.

She dropped the bombshell initially in a Facebook Live video that had over 500,000 views before it was removed.

In the video, she claimed her husband of over 25 years - now dead - was both a victim and perpetrator of paedophilia.



READ MORE:

* Māori leader accused of being in a child sex ring to pursue defamation suit

* Widow of Awanui Black says she has no evidence of paedophile ring

* Friends and leaders react to Awanui Black paedophile allegations

* Widow alleges Awanui Black a paedophile

In an interview with Stuff, Zhou Black claimed Black was also involved in a child-sex ring allegedly including high-profile Māori men and wealthy philanthropists.

But Zhou Black can offer no proof, can bring forward no witnesses, can name no dates, provide no paperwork or other concrete evidence required by police to prosecute or a court to convict the eight men she alleges are in the child-sex ring.

Close friends of Black believe the accusations stem from Zhou Black's belief she was cheated out of money. His brother is not ruling out legal action against his sister-in-law.

The couple, who had five children, had been separated for six years before his death in November 2016 from the effects of alcoholism.

Zhou Black's tears are genuine. She was still hurting over her husband's extramarital affairs, let alone the alleged paedophilia.

MARAE Anihera Black, the former wife of Awanui Black, alleged her husband was part of a child sex abuse ring but has yet to provide evidence that a ring exists.

In the interview at the Tauranga hotel, she was assisted and supported by her friend and spiritual adviser Pīata Tiaki-Turi.

Zhou Black's mournful wail came as she was "speaking my truth".

It stood in stark contrast to a scene playing out across Tauranga harbour.

A high-profile Māori leader learned, from his daughter, that his name was posted online, by supporters of Zhou Black, as being part of the alleged child-sex ring cited by Zhou Black.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, heard the news at home that he had been accused of raping the daughter now telling him about the social media post.

"It's sick. That's my baby. I would never hurt my baby," he said.

"One would presume and pray that if these women thought I was hurting my daughter like this, they would go straight to the police, or better yet, they would uplift my daughter to safety.

"But they didn't. Their first reaction was to climb to the top of Mauao (Mt Maunganui) and make claims of this nature on live video.

"Then Ani ... gave our names to media outlets and social media users before they gave it - or part of these lists - to police.

"I'm not a paedophile. I've never raped or touched a child inappropriately and if I knew there was someone that did that, I would inform police immediately before I walked in any light or claimed any truth."

SUPPLIED After he died, former Bay of Plenty Regional Council member and Ngāti Pūkenga iwi leader Awanui Black was accused of child sex abuse by his former wife Anihera Black.

Detective Inspector Mark Loper of Bay of Plenty Police said there have been no new developments in the case. He declined to disclose how many people had spoken to police or laid complaints. Neither would he say whether they had found evidence of a paedophile ring.

"Our priority is to ensure that anyone who wishes to speak with us can feel comfortable doing so."

The men on Zhou Black's list claim they have been tried and convicted without evidence in the court of social media.

A second man on the list said he had to sit his family down and prepare them for what might come out on Facebook.

"What do you do when you're accused of something and instead of there being a robust and fair investigation, you are tried by social media pundits?

"My livelihood, my family's reputation are left in the hands of these f...wits on social media. You can't come back from an allegation of that nature. Once these people say you are a paedophile, a majority of people take it as gospel. There is no logic to this at all."

HOW THE CHILD-SEX RING LIST WAS WRITTEN

Back in the Tauranga hotel, Zhou Black is weeping as she is asked by Stuff to provide evidence for each of the eight names she has provided Stuff alleged to be part of a paedophile ring.

Tiaki-Turi joins the interview by phone. She acts as Zhou Black's spiritual adviser or matakite - someone considered to possess a supernatural ability to see visions of the future.

Zhou Black is asked why an academic appears on her child-sex ring list.

"He's a very wealthy man … He knew Awa through that time. I don't know how long," she says.

No victim had identified the academic.

"Got anything to add, sis?" Zhou Black asks Tiaki-Turi.

"Um, it's just a connection that he has with a lot of the people associated to Awa," Tiaki-Turi offers.

"He's more a person of interest," Zhou Black adds.

"He was my Facebook friend up until three days ago and then he has blocked me."

MARAE Pīata Tiaki-Turi is a close friend and spiritual adviser to Anihera Zhou Black who assisted the mother-of-five in making the claims public.

Another man, one of the wealthy philanthropists, made the "paedophile list" because his name came up with a warning.

Tiaki-Turi doesn't reveal who or what the warning was or where it came from.

"It's a similar thing with [the academic]," Zhou Black says.

Asked if a supposed victim had actually named the philanthropist, Zhou Black replies: "Not that I can remember. Can you remember, sis?"

Tiaki-Turi responds: "Now, can you give me a reminder of who [he] is?"

When given a brief biography of the man by Stuff, Tiaki-Turi recalls why he was named as part of the ring.

"I still think he should be investigated because that name ... has come up and it has come up with [another man's name] and there was a warning attached to it."

That fourth man was named because he donated money toward a teen who attended an overseas kapa haka trip.

Tiaki-Turi: "We think that could have been early recruitment."

A philanthropist made the list because he wanted to be a "great white whale."

Tiaki-Turi: "That was really through all of those codes and [him] wanting to be the great white whale which is pretty much a myth, but when you put all those code words together, like a submarine shark - it comes up.

"It is a mythical shark, a great white. So that, based on who all these men are and linking to each other ... He should not be discluded."

A fifth man, a police officer, made the list because his links to Black were strong.

Tiaki-Turi: "No disclosures of the sexual kind, except, oh, that was just gossip of an affair. But because again the links are really strong, [he] has been in a lot of groups that Awa has also been in and [he] has not been honest even in his police dealings."

A sixth man - another high-profile Māori leader in Tauranga - is on their list due to his purchase of luxury vehicles and guns. They also accused him of being a bully and meth dealer.

Asked how many children he had sexually abused, they could provide no evidence, no disclosure from a victim, nothing.

"Well, we don't know that part yet," Tiaki-Turi says in regard to the supposed child-sex victims.

"What we do know is that he does have money. He does have the contacts overseas. He does go in and out of the country often. He shipped in a few luxury items ... here and there.

"He was blowing that he earns $80,000 a month and this disclosure comes from [name withheld].

Zhou Black and Tiaki-Turi claim the sixth name was the "ringleader of the sex ring".

"[He] has all the contacts here and overseas. Awa has the mana," Tiaki-Turi says.

"I'm just trying to link everybody to everybody."

Zhou Black and Tiaki-Turi claim two of the eight men on their list had three victims each. Those victims, they claim, made contact with them through two people acting as "buffers" to protect them. (Stuff understands there are at least two versions of the list, with some of the names shown to Stuff differing from those given to Māori Television.)

The victims have yet to make a formal complaint to police.

EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS AND AN UNRESOLVED WILL

When some of the eight men learned of the reasons why they had been named on the list, they were horrified.

One contemplated suicide.

"I walked into a hui and the parents in the meeting snatched their children as I walked past," he said.

"Once someone associates you with child-sex offending, you become poison, despite there being no evidence or truth. You are tried and convicted in the most public and unfair system - the court of social media.

"What hurt the most was the way in which my friends within Māoridom just came out and condemned Awa before asking questions. It gave these claims validity, despite there being no proof. And through that 'validity', my kids, my wife and I have suffered.

"All because I was close with Awanui. He was ... my friend. He didn't touch any child. This witch hunt is because of the affairs Awanui had on Ani and his will. But there are two sides to every story and let's just say Awa was left a broken man when his wife had an affair with another teacher. (Zhou Black confirmed to Stuff she had an affair in 1999 which she disclosed to Black and her whānau. Tiaki-Turi said the affair happened because Black had emotionally left the marriage)

"Look, we had affairs on our wives. Back in the early 2000s, yes, we were part of a group of guys, like an old boys' network, that had each other's backs with our wives.

"We slept with prostitutes and had one-night stands - with women, not children.

"Anihera knows about our [Facebook] group. She knows that wasn't a child-sex ring."

The Facebook group was a private group of high-profile Māori men. Only some of the men named on Zhou Black's list were members. The man said it was used as a "hook-up" place where members could find sex with other consenting adults. The group also had hand gestures they would flash while on TV. The page no longer exists on Facebook.

Te Kāea Māori women leaders have come out in support of communities and families affected by accusations against the late Awanuiārangi Black.

Six close friends of Black have claimed his extramarital affairs and his estate are the real reasons behind the accusations. Zhou Black denies that.

His estate is still to be wrapped up.

After Black's death, a friend told Zhou Black her former husband wanted his share of the family house put into an education trust, in his name, to be used by those studying environmental and marine studies. He also wanted his tāonga and writings to be gifted to a Tauranga museum and library. That friend has been named on one of Zhou Black's lists.

Black died before that will was signed and Zhou Black has some control of the estate. The house and his tāonga remain within the family.

"The whole thing was bizarre, because he left nothing for his children," Zhou Black said.

"We had a second house in Ōtaki which we sold and by the time we paid off some bills, there was $90,000 sitting in the trust account and so I was entitled to $45K and he was entitled to $45K - all he left his children was a share of that."

The estate is due to be settled this year.

"I'm just waiting till September because we had to wait a year to see if there were any claimants that come forward," Anihera said.

CHRIS SKELTON/STUFF Mark Black is still waiting on the "irrefutable evidence" that would prove his brother Awanuiārangi Black and his brother's associates are part of a child-sex ring, as claimed by his brother's former wife Anihera Zhou Black.

BLACK'S BROTHER: SHE ACCUSED HIM, THEN CAME TO ME FOR EVIDENCE

At his home in Auckland's Blockhouse Bay, Mark Black is reeling.

First about the accusations against his younger brother Awanui, but more importantly, the lack of evidence.

"My initial reaction was actually shock," Mark said.

"I saw it on the news - that came right out of left field. I would expect that if she was going to post anything like that, she'd get in contact with me, even with her family, telling them what's going on.

"My dead brother was on TV accused of doing all these things by Anihera without anything being investigated and that just blew me away.

"The way I look at it is a person is innocent until proven guilty because no facts have been produced or any evidence has been produced to support the allegations."

"She made a video accusing my [family member] of abusing Awa as a child and three days later she calls me wanting proof.

"I said: 'You've accused him of it and now you're telling me you have nothing in terms of proof?'

"And then Anihera said, 'You know.' But I don't know.

"She basically wanted information about the sexual abuse suffered by Awanui. She made a public video, then came to me for evidence three days later."

Mark said he wasn't aware of any sexual abuse suffered by Awanui.

Zhou Black admits her former husband did not disclose to her that he had been sexually abused. She learned about it after his death from a close friend of the family.

In the video, Zhou Black names the man she alleges molested Awanui as a child.

"There's due process," Mark said, "that's the way I look at it, and that should have been made clear at the start. It should have gone to the police first, not social media first.

"This explosion about what has allegedly happened has caused a big division through our whānau and Māoridom itself because the amount of work that my brother did with Treaty negotiations, kapa haka and various other things that he was doing at the time," Black said.

BLACK'S EX-PARTNER: 'HE WAS AN AMAZING FATHER FIGURE'

Three months before Black died, he and his partner of a year, Merania French, separated on good terms.

French and Black lived with her 15-year-old nephew and four-year-old son. Neither have reported any inappropriate touching by Black.

"He was never sexually inappropriate to any of us," French said.

"In fact, he was an amazing father figure to my son and he misses Awa so much."

French said his ex-wife made life difficult for Black.

"It wasn't about the claims against children. She was concerned that Awa was hiding money from her. I think Ani should be completely honest with the public about her real truth instead of using the public to settle this vendetta she has against Awa and those around him," French said.

French said since Zhou Black's Facebook Live video, people have questioned her about whether Awanui had touched her son.

"A lot of them have asked me what I think about it and because that has been said, there could be a slight possibility that this could have gone on, but the thing is the proof that I do have is that he hasn't done these things and when she talks about the [child-sex] ring - there's just no chance of that, either.

"In Māoridom, a paedophile ring, there is just no chance of that going unnoticed like that. Things get kept from the media, but within Māoridom, that would be hard to be kept hidden."

French said the "baseless" allegations have caused stress and grief.

"This doesn't just s... on Awanui, it s.... on everyone that may have associated with him. Because I was with him, will people now look at us and think Awanui abused us. Because that did not happen."

MATT SHAND/STUFF A stunning mural depicting Awanui Black performing a haka has been covered over by the artist Mr G.

'MY WHĀNAU WANTS THE TRUTH'

The alleged "ringleader" of the sex ring said that Black died broke.

"He was basically living off the generosity of others, and he was able to do that because of the loving nature he had.

"He had nowhere to call home, but his whānau made sure he had a roof over his head. Basically, he gave everything to Anihera for his children. He went without. He turned to alcohol and drank himself to an early grave.

"It was a myriad of things. His workload, his marriage breakdown, Anihera always accusing him of holding secret bank accounts. This paedophile stuff was never an issue until now. Because prior to that, it was all about the money. Strange, eh?"

Black's brother Mark is not interested in a slagging match.

"I want the truth. My whānau wants the truth, whichever way it goes."

"If my brother is found to have done these things, then myself and our whānau will do everything we can to support anybody that has been affected by this and Anihera.

"I look at my nephews and niece [children of Awanui] - I don't know how they are feeling about it. I'm worried about the impact it has had on them as well. It's a big thing that their father has been accused of this and them not knowing about it.

"It's like we have gone back to medieval times, the way things have happened. They used to burn people because they had warts on their noses and silly things like that. I thought we had evolved, but it seems we have devolved and it's quite wicked that people who didn't even know my brother are portraying him as a demon and that he is evil without knowing him. Without evidence. They've based it on a video and there is yet to be proof to support those claims."

Black has instructed lawyers to look into the matter.

"It feels like his [Awanui] head's been chopped off and if he is innocent, it's very hard to put the head back on.

"It's wrong."



Where to get help:

National Collective Of Rape Crisis: 0800 883300

Auckland Sexual Abuse Help Foundation: 09 623 1700

Whangarei Miriam Centre: 09 437 6010

Te Awamutu Healing and Rape Crisis Centre: 07 871 8132

Bay of Plenty Sexual Assault Support Service: 0800 227 233

Wellington Sexual Abuse Help Foundation: 04 499 7530

Wairarapa Rape and Sexual Abuse Collective: 0800 614614

SOUTH ISLAND

Sexual Abuse Support and Healing: 03 548 2407

Women's Refuge, Sexual Assault Resource Centre Marlborough: 03 577 9939

Te Puna Oranga: 0800 traumaline