Some three years ago a young 9-year-old girl was sexually abused on at least 5 occasions by an older man who was a close family friend. The offending occurred in a small seaside village on the Coromandel Peninsula.
This immensely brave young girl reported these incidents to her parents and the Police. Subsequently a male in his late 70s was charged with 5 counts of sexual offences against a young child. At trial he was convicted of two of these charges and with discounts for his age and medical conditions was sentenced to a period of home detention. He was not placed on the sex offender register of New Zealand by the court.
The offender at no stage admitted or acknowledged his offending and after conviction showed no remorse for his actions.
As soon as his period of home detention was completed and without any further judicial oversight, he was free to return to the scene of his offending and with a strong likelihood that the young victim would and could be re traumatised due to his physical proximity.
The New Zealand Herald did a large piece on the incident and the offender was both named and identified by his photographs on his social media pages. The victim cannot be identified for legal reasons. The family support change in a number of areas and expressed their thanks to the community for their support and commended the Police Detective who dealt with their case.
Following the article in the NZ Herald a social media storm started on various local Face Book pages. The Herald story was repeated, the offender’s photographs widely shared and opinions ranging from running the offender out of town, to making threats of physical violence towards the offender were aired. Several locals were also heard to comment that this incident was ‘really not that serious’. FB administrators were criticised for doing their job by following the FB page rules.
Sadly, most of these posts were directed at the offender and there was precious little support for the victim or her family or indeed some calm logical and effective suggestions whereby we could keep our children safe.
The above incident raises serious questions around the conduct of the offender, the Law, the courts and the keyboard warriors on social media.
New Zealand can be rightly proud of how we as a nation are world leaders in a variety of pursuits, but two achievements are a national disgrace and a cause of shame for our people. Statistics show that New Zealand is a world leader in both child abuse and domestic violence. Despite Royal Commissions of Enquiry, Acts of Parliament, actions by the police and the judiciary, education in schools and widespread condemnation this type of offending continues unabated.
It is not comfortable or fashionable to talk about child sexual abuse and secrecy only aids and abets sexual predators. The incident above is by no means an isolated one. Apart from shedding light on this incident, there are serious questions to be asked in respect of the offender’s conduct, the current Law, the way the Courts responded, the way sections of the community responded and importantly what steps should and could have been taken by all of us to protect our children.
By convention it is not acceptable to criticise the courts and the judiciary. That convention, whilst true for politicians, needs to be thrown out. The courts and the judiciary have a responsibility to keep our communities safe. They need to focus on the needs of the victims, they need to hold offenders accountable for their actions, they need to sentence offenders as Parliament dictates and they need to put in place stringent provisions where serious offenders are monitored long after their sentences have been completed.
In this case why was a young child required to spend 3 days in court with periods up to 6 hours in the witness box? Surely a young victim deserves better treatment than that. Why was the offender not placed on the sex offenders register? This would have kept the victim safe and allowed the authorities to have a great deal of influence on where he lived, where he was allowed to travel and similar conditions. Why did the offender receive a sentence of 10 months home detention when the starting point under the Sentencing Act was 3 years? Despite what was in the Judges sentencing notes there can be no mitigating factors for any of these points. For far too long the rights of the offender have been put ahead of the victims.
Is it any wonder that people in general have little trust and confidence in the judicial system? Large amount of crime remain unreported, and Police are continuously frustrated that courts do not support their work and offenders are better than their victims.
Last weekend a private meeting was held in the village where this offending took place. Local leaders, representatives of the victim’s family, the Whitianga Social Services Trust, Child Sexual Abuse experts, the Police, our local MP Scott Simpson and Councillor Flemming Rasmussen attended. The aim of the meeting was to identify positive and constructive steps as to how a community can address child sexual abuse and develop strategies to keep our children safe. It also aimed to communicate to victims and their families how to keep themselves and identify what levels of support there were.
Suggestions included the formation of a Neighbourhood Support Group that could support victims and their families, keep the community safe and work closely with the authorities.
Many participants made it clear that there needs to be several changes in the law including the mandatory inclusion of all sex offenders on the Sex Offenders Register, better protection for young victims during a court process and much stronger and relevant sentencing for offenders.
It was also agreed that vigilante mentalities do not work and are not condoned.
Society must address these wider issues by better parenting, better education of how to keep safe and a firm message that child abuse and domestic violence will not be tolerated.
Child Sexual Abuse needs to be publicly aired. Offenders need to be held accountable and targeted compulsory treatment and rehabilitation made available. Only a holistic whole of community response will work.
For the victims and their families and those who need more support please find attached a list of social services.
For the brave young victim and her family, you have our support and we as a community will work to ensure that victims’ rights are upheld and offenders held to account.
Kathy Archibald works with CAPS Hauraki. Kathy is Project Lead for the Right2BSafe Project, which is all about prevention—helping stop harm before it happens.
CAPS Hauraki is a community-based organisation supporting people across Thames, Paeroa, Coromandel, and the wider Hauraki area.
Both organisations can be contacted through their websites. Offenders can be reported to Police on 111 or 105 and anonymous information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Spoken statement by the mother of the victim:
I want to acknowledge that this is not an easy topic. Sexual abuse can have deep and lasting impacts on children, their whānau, and the wider community. For some people here, this may feel very close to home. So, I want to speak with care, and with respect for those experiences.
I also want to acknowledge this community for being willing to lift the lid on something that can be hard to talk about. That takes courage, and it’s an important step in keeping our tamariki safe.
Our focus is really on working alongside people – whānau, individuals, and communities – to build confidence and understanding around what keeps children safe.
That looks like:
• helping adults feel more confident to notice concerns and respond early.
• supporting strong, trusting relationships where children feel safe to speak up.
• creating safer spaces – at home, in organisations, and online.
We also make sure people know where to go for help. That includes support for those affected by harm, and for people who might be worried about their own thoughts or behaviours and want support to keep children safe.
In Aotearoa, about 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys may experience some form of sexual abuse; and in most cases – around 90% –the person responsible is someone known to the child or their family.
When we talk about sexual abuse, we’re talking about situations where someone older, stronger, or more powerful, involves a child in sexual activity for their own benefit.
I know those are hard things to hear – but they also remind us why prevention matters so much.
The good news is, there are practical things we can all do that make a real difference.
These are simple things such as:
- making sure sleepovers are safe and well supervised
- encouraging children to trust their instincts.
- letting them know they should never keep harmful secrets.
- teaching body boundaries and using the correct names for body parts.
- knowing where our children are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing.
- staying involved in their online world.
These might seem like small steps, but together they help build a strong layer of protection around our children.
Statistics Source: Janet Fanslow is a Professor at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland
