Peter bailed out for Athens |
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 Aussie boxer Perter Wakefield Sydney: South Australia Premier Mike Rann yesterday ordered an investigation into why an alleged violent home invader was bailed so he could box for Australia at the 2004 Olympics.
Rann said he learned Athens-bound Elizabeth Grove boxer Peter Wakefield faced criminal charges only when it was revealed by The Advertiser.
He has asked the Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, for a report on the case, declining to comment further until I know the facts.
Wakefield, 26, who is training for the Olympic Games in central France with eight teammates, refused to comment on the charges yesterday.
But Australian Olympic Committee boss John Coates will sit down with Wakefield when he arrives in Athens explaining to him his obligations as a member of the Olympic team in relation to standards of behaviour.
Spokesman Mike Tancred said the AOC was not aware of Wakefields impending trial when he was selected for the Australian team.
Our comment would be that there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, he said. The judge has seen fit to vary his bail to allow him to travel with the team, and we understand it is a domestic dispute.
He will remain with the team and compete at this point. This does not change anything.
It is understood the AOC smarting from a series of drug allegations is furious it was not informed about Wakefields case.
Wakefield asked the District Court last month to postpone his home invasion trial as he had worked very, very hard to get to Athens, according to court documents.
The light flyweight is one of three men charged with breaking into a Para Hills West home in 2002 and beating a man with a baseball bat and an iron bar while saying we are going to kill you . . . youre dead.
Despite the serious charges, the District Court has granted Wakefield permission to attend several pre-Games training camps without a guarantor.
Wakefield also successfully applied for his trial scheduled for July 5 this year to be vacated and replaced with a six-day hearing beginning June 7, 2005.
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