74-yr-old rapist's sentence doubled

An elderly man has had his jail sentence nearly doubled after it was discovered he had raped a 14-year-old girl.

Leslie John Miller, 74, who was already in prison for sexual offences against the same girl, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for two counts of rape, with a minimum non-parole period of six years, in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday.

The offences occurred about four years ago.

His sentence was to be served concurrently with a 6 1/2 year sentence already imposed for four sexual offences against the girl, the Manawatu Standard reported.

Miller, a father of 11 children over seven decades, was a respected man, said his lawyer Andru Isac.

Judge Alastair Garland said the offending against the young victim occurred over about three to four years.

He committed "escalating sexual abuse" against a vulnerable young girl and a report showed he had no motivation to address his offending, Judge Garland said.

The victim was now emotionally scarred and unable to maintain normal relationships, often resorting to self harm.

- NZPA