Former Aboriginal Legal Service worker Loretta Tulikaki attempted to pervert course of justice

Loretta Alamani Tulikaki, 24, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Four further charges against the O'Connor woman were withdrawn.

An agreed statement of facts shows a man was attacked at a Dunlop home, which is fitted with high-quality CCTV cameras, in the early hours of March 26.

The surveillance system captured video and audio of the entire 12-minute assault, which left the victim bleeding after he was, among other things, kicked in the face at least six times.

Police encountered Tulikaki, who identified herself as a client services officer with the Aboriginal Legal Service, when they went to the home that night to seize the CCTV footage.

When police reviewed the footage, they discovered Tulikaki had arrived at the scene during the afternoon.

She could be seen speaking to two of the men who had been involved in the assault and discussing "steps that may be taken to frustrate a police investigation".

These included deleting CCTV footage of the assault, disposing of a phone that had been stolen from the victim, and having someone approach the victim to "sort the matter out".

She also referred specifically to police investigative techniques as she instructed the two men to collect the clothing they had worn during the assault.

"Clothes will burn," Tulikaki said.

The 24-year-old further instructed the man who had kicked the victim in the face to collect his shoes, saying "they need to be bleached" and "the blood needs to be removed".

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The other man, who filmed the attack, acted on Tulikaki's instructions to gather "anything with blood on it", and items fitting the bill were placed into bags.

According to the agreed facts, the victim's phone and identification card, which had been stolen during the attack, were also discussed.

Tulikaki said she would "wipe them down" and, after doing that with an anti-bacterial or sanitising wipe, she placed them into a plastic bag and ensured she did not touch them with her bare hands.

The 24-year-old left her job with the Aboriginal Legal Service six days later, when she was granted bail after being arrested and charged over the incident.

Following Tulikaki's guilty plea, magistrate Louise Taylor listed the matter for sentencing in the Galambany Court on June 2.

Several other people have been charged over the assault. All of them remain before the courts.

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