Former Whanganui teacher faces jail for sex crimes

Wanganui Collegiate School

A former Wanganui Collegiate music teacher found guilty of historic sex crimes is facing an inevitable jail term.

After a week-long trial at the Manukau District Court, the jury took less than two hours to find Trevor Ian Gibbs guilty on Friday.

The complainant was able to listen into the courtroom to hear the verdicts by an audio-visual link from another room in the court building.

The jury found Gibbs guilty of all five charges of doing an indecent act on a boy and one of sodomy.

As the verdicts were read out, Gibbs' wife wept in the public gallery, comforted by friends and family, Radio New Zealand reported.

Judge Richard McIlraith granted Gibbs bail to allow him to see doctors for his ill-health, but said the sentencing outcome was inevitable.

He said it would be extremely unlikely the result would be anything but a lengthy prison sentence.

The Crown's case was that Gibbs groomed and then sexually abused his student.

The man's evidence at court was consistent and compelling. He had a clear memory of what had happened, despite the decades, and was able to recall details from the room, the door and even the door handle.

Manukau District Court

Crown prosecutor Jasper Rhodes said Gibbs took care in choosing the places where he would abuse the boy - including his locked office and even the attic space above his office.

Mr Rhodes acknowledged the complaint had only been made relatively recently, because the man - out of concern for his parents - had waited until they had passed away before approaching the police.

Gibbs denied the offending took place. His lawyer argued the complainant made up the abuse in an effort to explain his homosexuality before the law was reformed in the 1980s.

Gibbs, who has previous convictions, will be sentenced in February.