Northland man jailed for prolonged sexual abuse of stepdaughter

A Northlander has been sentenced by the Whangārei District Court to more than 13 years in jail for sexually abusing his step daughter. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A Northlander who sexually abused his stepdaughter for more than a decade until she turned 18 told her she would never have the courage to go to police.

"Well, guess what? I did, and now you have to face the consequences of your evil, sick and disgusting behaviour," said the now young woman while reading her victim impact statement during his sentencing in the Whangārei District Court on Friday.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was earlier found guilty by a jury on a number of sexual offence charges and was sentenced to 13 years and eight months behind bars.

There were three of sexual violation, three of indecency with a girl under 12, and single charges of rape and assault.

He appeared via audio visual link from prison.

The woman read her victim impact statement from a separate courtroom.

"This person is evil and knew exactly what he was doing and considered himself above the law. He told me for so long that I would never have the courage to go to the police.

"This person has taken so much life from me. I was a happy, bubbly and outgoing person and now I wake up every day trying to find a reason to keep on living and not wanting to kill myself. This person absolutely destroyed my life from a very long time and I hope their life is somewhat destroyed too.

"I have to wake up, ready for a battle every day. I knew at a very young age that no one was coming to save me. I have saved myself. I had a life sentence and so should he. As I have to suffer for the rest of my life, this person should have a significant amount of life taken away from him," she said.

The woman said his actions didn't just affect her but there were ripples throughout her friends and family.

Judge John McDonald said the man started behaving in a sexually inappropriate way towards the girl, including making her watch pornography with him and forcing her to perform oral sex on him, since she was six through to her mid-teens.

He groomed her, first by tickling her and playfighting and then moved to sexually abusing her when she was about six until before her 18th birthday, he said.

The judge said such behaviour did not happen three or four times, but "year after year after year".

Judge McDonald said the man told her to wait until she turned 16 when he would have full sexual intercourse with her.

"The difficulty she now has in later life, in my view, can be laid fairly and squarely at your door and what you did to her. You denied everything that she said. You called her a liar, said she was making it up."

SEXUAL HARM - DO YOU NEED HELP?

If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone contact the Safe to Talk confidential crisis helpline on:
• Text 4334 and they will respond
• Email support@safetotalk.nz
• Visit https://safetotalk.nz/contact-us/ for an online chat
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.

h2>Looking for support? It's available

• Call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor

• Call PlunketLine 24/7 on 0800 933 922

• Depression helpline: Freephone 0800 111 757

• Healthline: 0800 611 116 (available 24 hours, 7 days a week and free to callers throughout New Zealand, including from a mobile phone)

• Lifeline: 0800 543 35

• Samaritans: 0800 726 666