Paula Penfold

Auckland

Senior Journalist at Stuff.co.nz

Journalist

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Articles

An ordinary assault, or a foreign power suppressing protest in NZ? Or neither?

1 week ago | stuff.co.nz | Paula Penfold

Concerns over foreign interference in alleged assault. A protester allegedly assaulted during the visit of Chinese Premier Li to Auckland in 2024 may have seemed a cut and dried case, given the whole event was captured on video. But on the very same day it featured in a global report on tactics deployed by China to silence protesters abroad, police told the victim they were closing the case. Were police hamstrung by a gap in the law? Or did they not consider the possibility of foreign interference?
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is facing trial - and these eccentric sketch artists

2 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Paula Penfold |Edward Gay

Diddy Trial: Ex-Assistant Claims Combs Sexually Assaulted Her. Three women have full control over Sean Combs’s image. At least until the end of his trial. In the front row of the courtroom where Sean “Diddy” Combs is pleading not guilty to federal sex trafficking and criminal racketeering charges, the trio sits in the front row, each peering at the witness stand through binoculars, hastily producing sketches that will be disseminated to news organizations worldwide.
‘Not good enough’: Sex worker on gym’s handling of ‘creep’s’ photos

2 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Paula Penfold

PM’s press secretary ‘recorded sex workers without consent’Les Mills gyms in Wellington attended by ex-senior government press secretary Michael Forbes say the safety and security of members and staff is the top priority. So what was done after a sex worker told one of the gyms about photos on Forbes’ phone of women members working out? Not enough, the sex worker says. Paula Penfold reports.
The Waikato Times

2 weeks ago | waikatotimes.co.nz | Paula Penfold
The Post

2 weeks ago | thepost.co.nz | Paula Penfold
Anatomy of a scandal: Why frustrated sex workers went public about Michael Forbes

2 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Paula Penfold

Zara, one of the sex workers who spoke out about Michael ForbesThe case of a disgraced former government press secretary has reached the highest levels of political power and officialdom, who were blindsided when faced with questions from Stuff. But in the “deep dives” launched into what went wrong, will someone ask why officials didn’t know, when word had been out on the street for months?
What happened in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial this week: US$100K payment, freak-offs and more

3 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Michael R. Sisak |Larry Neumeister |Bridie Witton |Paula Penfold

Ex-assistant testifies Sean 'Diddy' Combs sexually assaulted herDrug-fuelled freak-offs described in graphic detail, testimony of a US$100,000 bribe and the judge’s threat to kick Sean “Diddy” Combs out of the proceedings are among the most prominent moments captured in the sex-trafficking trial of the hip-hop impresario this week.
The Post

3 weeks ago | thepost.co.nz | Paula Penfold
What was on Michael Forbes’ phones and why does it matter?

3 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Paula Penfold

Luxon orders inquiry after ex-staffer accused of secret recordingsPolice investigating a complaint against a senior government press secretary executed a search warrant and seized his two phones, one of them a government-issued work phone, raising concerns about the security of the information it contained. So what was on it? Paula Penfold reports.
Man loses appeal over bach burglary linked to ‘exorcism’

3 weeks ago | stuff.co.nz | Paula Penfold |Michelle Price |Alan Granville |Keiran Smith

A man convicted of a burglary in which he lit fires and defaced walls as part of an exorcism near Nelson has failed in his appeal to overturn both his conviction and sentence. The loss concludes a drawn-out legal process for Aaron Alexander, in which he represented himself throughout. The appeal was dismissed in the Court of Appeal this week after he was found guilty in September 2023 following a five-day jury trial in the Nelson District Court. He chose not to give or call evidence.