WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — He was one of the most powerful police officers in New Zealand and a year ago almost won the country’s top law enforcement job. But the public didn’t know Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was facing claims of sexual abuse during an affair with a young staffer and would soon be charged with viewing illegal sex images, including of child abuse, on his work computer.

The case has provoked public outrage and reignited a debate about police power two decades after a national outcry about how the force handled another young woman’s sexual violence accusations against officers. Since then, New Zealand’s force has sought to reshape itself as a liberal and friendly law enforcement agency.

“This is a big hit to integrity and trust for the police,” Prime Mi

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