A Catholic brother has avoided standing trial on sexual abuse charges after the prosecution entered a stay of proceedings.
Raymond Garchow was due to defend eight counts of sexually abusing boys at Marylands School in Christchurch in the 1970s.
The 61-year-old St John of God brother fought an extradition order for three years before being brought back to New Zealand from Australia in 2006.
Now, he has avoided going to trial after the prosecution decided it was inappropriate to continue court proceedings because of his, and one of the complainants, poor health.
The officer in charge of the case, Detective Sergeant Earle Borrell, says it is disappointing that Mr Garchow was not convicted, but the stay is the most appropriate outcome.
Mr Garchow was the last of five St John of God Brothers to face charges of sexually abusing boys at the school for students with special needs.
In total, 125 complaints of sexual abuse were made to the St John of God Order, which paid out $5.1 million in compensation to the victims.
No one from the order was available for comment on Friday.
But in a written statement issued after the conviction of brother Rodger Moloney in June, the head of the Australia-Pacific region, Brother Timothy Graham apologised to the victims.
Mr Borrell says it is unfortunate that the actions of a few brothers have tarnished the reputation of the St John of God Order.
The six-year-long police investigation into the abuse at Marylands will come to an end when Moloney is sentenced on seven charges next week.
