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WARNING: This story contains descriptions of the physical and sexual abuse of children.
An Auckland man has been handed one of the longest prison sentences for child abuse after he was found guilty of physically and sexually assaulting seven children – most of them his own.
The man abused his children for many years and only came to police attention when some of them told an adult outside their immediate family. Photo / File
And it is harsher than the 16-year prison term set for former Blenheim gymnastics coach Gregory Pask – convicted of 250 sexual offences against five young girls in his care and others who could not be identified.
The Auckland man has been granted permanent name suppression to protect the identities of his children.
But Judge Kathryn Maxwell allowed the Herald to report on the facts of the case and her sentencing remarks.
Court documents state that between 2006 and 2021 the man “routinely assaulted and/or sexually violated” his children in and around the family home.
The children were hit and punched and “various objects” were used in violent attacks.
For many years the abuse went unnoticed.
Court documents reveal at least one other adult was aware of what was happening – but did not report it.
It was not until some of the victims disclosed the abuse to someone outside the family that police and Oranga Tamariki were alerted and an investigation began.
Sins of the father – the 51 abuse charges
The man faced 51 charges including rape, attempted rape, sexual violation, sexual conduct with a child, sexual conduct with a young person, assault with a weapon, assault on a child and male assaults female.
Many of the charges were representative – meaning police believed the man had committed multiple offences of the same type in similar circumstances.
He admitted two charges but denied the remaining 49.
A jury found him guilty on the balance at a trial in the Auckland District Court.
The man was sentenced last month, with Judge Maxwell outlining the facts around each charge at length.
Auckland District Court. Photo / Nick Reed
“Your offending was serious – and to not go through it in any detail would not serve as any justice to the victims who were put through a jury trial,” she said.
“Denunciation, deterrence, and the need to hold you accountable for the harm done to the victims are the primary purposes of sentencing in this case.
“That said, I also need to keep in mind the need to impose the least restrictive outcome appropriate in the circumstances.”
The details of the offending are graphic and the Herald has chosen not to report the specifics of some of the violations.
However, Judge Maxwell felt it was important to address the offending against each of the seven children.
The details also show the abuse was frequent and premeditated and the man was so brazen he offended in front of another adult.
That adult did not report the incident.
Child A – his daughter
The girl was aged between 9 and 14 when she was abused by her father.
“During this time you would regularly attempt to rape her … On further occasions … you would attempt to remove her clothing to have sex with her,” said Judge Maxwell.
“On an occasion between 2016 and 2018 [she] was between 10 and 12 years of age and asleep in her bedroom. Her sister was asleep in a different bed.
“She wore a pair of overalls to bed in an attempt to deter you from violating her at night. You entered the room, approached her, took off her overalls, and kissed parts of her body. You then took off your own clothing and (violated) her.
“On an occasion between 2018 and 2020, [she] was aged between 12 and 14 years. She was asleep in her mother’s bedroom.
“She woke to you being on top of her, hurriedly taking her clothes off. You kissed her and told her to call you daddy.
“She tried to kick you off her, but you … held her arms down while you raped her.
“As this was occurring, your partner was inside the house. When [the girl] tried to yell out for help, you placed your hand over her mouth and told her to be quiet.
“Eventually you released her, she got up, changed into her clothing, and went into her sister’s room.”
The man would regularly sexually and physically assault his family. Photo / File
Another night, the man raped the little girl while she was sleeping in the family’s living room.
“She resisted and told you to stop … She was crying during the assault.”
During another sexual assault, the girl “tried to punch and kick out” at her father but was “unable to escape”.
“Eventually you stopped and [she] ran out of the bedroom,” Judge Maxwell recounted.
“Between 2015 and 2021, you used various instruments to hit [her] on her arms, legs and bottom. That included a broom, a metal vacuum stick, and wooden spoons.”
The abuse of the second girl began when she was 6 and continued until she was 14.
“On one occasion … [she was] sleeping with her mother and you in a bed. During the night you [violated her]. She asked you to stop and to leave you alone. She stayed fearful that she would be hurt if she tried to leave.
“On a further occasion [she] was home alone with you. You led her into the bathroom. You told her to take her clothes off. She did not understand what was going to happen and was afraid. This was the first time that you raped her.”
The man would go into the girl’s room while she was sleeping or into the bathroom while she was showering and violate her.
Once, in her bed, she began to cry and told her father to stop.
“You punched her in the leg and told her to shut up. You continued to sexually offend against her. Whenever she started crying you would strike her and tell her to be quiet,” said Judge Maxwell.
Disturbingly, the man also touched the girl while she was having her hair washed by an adult woman.
The woman did not intervene, or report the incident.
The man abused at least one of the children when taking her to the shops or on other outings. Photo / 123RF
“On several occasions [she] would be in the car with you, either en route to the supermarket or on other excursions.
“You would then park up on the street, or in a deserted car park, and you would make her perform [a sexual act]. This happened on at least 10 occasions.”
Between 2013 and 2021 the man attempted to rape her numerous times and would use “various instruments” to hit her including a tennis racket, a coat hanger, and a belt.
“On various occasions during the same period you would slap and hit her on the face … you struck her on the back with the vacuum pole, and also on the head,” said Judge Maxwell.
Child A and B
The man’s abuse was not restricted to one child at a time.
At least once he abused two of his daughters together.
One was aged between 6 and 8, the other between 7 and 9.
“You told them both to go to the bedroom. You told them both to remove their clothes. You positioned them so they were kneeling on the bed,” the judge explained.
“You would regularly hit [his] face if he was making too much noise.
The man also assaulted the boy and his younger brother – Child D, who was aged between 2 and 4 – with “rolled advertising mail” when a television was damaged.
Child E
“[When she] was aged between 5 and 8 years old, you hit her arms and legs with a blue soup stick,” said Judge Maxwell.
“Between the same period you had become annoyed if she made too much noise. You would respond by hitting her face with your arm or hand.”
“In September 2020 she confronted you in the course of an argument. You grabbed a butcher’s knife and held it to her throat telling her to “shut the f**k up”.
“You released the knife when the children came downstairs, having heard you two arguing.”
“Extreme” violation: Factors the judge considered at sentencing
Judge Maxwell said there were aggravating factors to the man’s offending including the victims’ vulnerability, a breach of trust, the degree of violation and the scale of the offending.
“The victims were inherently vulnerable by virtue of their ages. Most of the victims were your children,” said Judge Maxwell.
“Offending by a parent against a child is considered particularly seriously by the court.
“Your offending was extensive … You sexually violated both of your older daughters … the degree of violation was extreme.
“There were multiple victims. You sexually offended against your daughters over an eight-year period, almost a decade.
“The offending was frequent across two addresses … the scale of your offending cannot be overstated.”
For years the children did not tell anyone. A woman witnessed the abuse of at least one victim but did not report it. Photo / 123rf
Judge Maxwell said the planning of the offending and the level of harm caused were further aggravating factors.
“The offending was clearly premeditated. You offended when others were asleep or having isolated victims from others,” she said.
“Some of the offending involved you taking victims away from the address.”
Some of the children were able to tell the court how the man’s offending had affected them, working with family members to write victim impact statements.
“The statements speak of the trauma of your offending across a generation of your family,” said Judge Maxwell.
“What comes across in those statements are the feelings of guilt, of blaming themselves for your actions.
“My hope for the victims of your offending is that they receive the love and support that they need to move forward.
“They need to know that any blame falls squarely upon you. You are responsible for your actions, not them. "
“I was framed”: Convicted sex offender maintains innocence
Judge Maxwell said “prolonged” sexual offending against children and teenagers “invariably attracts” a “lengthy” jail term.
After considering submissions from the Crown and defence, including examples of previous similar cases, Judge Maxwell set a starting point of 19 years and six months in prison.
“The question, therefore, becomes what discounts, if any, may be available,” she said.
A pre-sentence report supplied to the court about the man and his personal circumstances and background – which in many cases identifies issues and incidents in a person’s life causative or connected to their offending – was “brief”.
“The report notes that you continue to maintain your innocence and that you said to the report writer: ‘I was framed’,” Judge Maxwell revealed.
The man denied the offending but was found guilty on most of the charges against him. Photo / File
“There are no mitigating factors. The only factor that I can take into account is the time that you have spent subject to electronically monitored bail.
“As I indicated to your lawyer earlier, I am minded to give a discount of six months for that factor, albeit that could be considered generous given that you have been permitted to work.
“That would reduce the starting point to one of 19 years’ imprisonment.
“In the circumstances, a minimum parole period of 50% is justified.”
Judge Maxwell confirmed the man would be entered on the Child Sex Offender Register.
And she explained why his name can never be published.
“There have been no suppression orders in place until now,” she said.
“The names of the victims are automatically suppressed by law.
“However, some concern is raised regarding publication of your name, and the ability to protect the victims … the victims would like your name suppressed, so I intend to make that order today.”
She sentenced the man on each of the charges separately – with all of his prison terms to be served concurrently.
He was sentenced to:
19 years in prison with a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) of 50% on four charges of rape
19 years for sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection
5 years for the attempted rapes
3 years for sexual conduct with a child under 16
3 years for sexual conduct with a child under 12
2 years for assault with a weapon
1 year for assault on a child
1 year for male assaults female
Abuser’s sentence more than some child killers
The Auckland father’s sentence is among the longest handed down to child abusers in New Zealand.
Only a few offenders have been ordered to serve more time than him.
Even some people who have killed children have been given lesser terms.
Tania Shailer, 26, and David Haerewa, 44, were sentenced to 17 years in jail with a minimum non-parole period of nine years after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of 3-year-old Moko Rangitohiriri in August 2015.
The couple – his caregivers – inflicted horrific injuries on Moko over two months.
Tania Witika was sentenced to 16 years in prison for manslaughter after the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Delcelia.
The case was the first to highlight the shocking level of child abuse in New Zealand. A High Court judge said at the time Delcelia’s death was one of the most disturbing cases he had seen.
Witika served 10 years of her sentence and was released on parole.
As well as six years imprisonment for manslaughter, Namana received concurrent terms of two years’ jail on two charges of wilful ill-treatment, two years on two charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life and 18 months for an earlier assault on Lillybing.
Namana’s sister Rongomai Paewai received concurrent terms of two years’ jail on the two charges of ill-treatment and the two charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life.
Preventive detention means offenders may be released on parole – but remain managed by Corrections for the rest of their lives and can be recalled to prison at any time.
The former deputy principal of Pamapuria School admitted 74 sex charges relating to sleepovers with boys at his Awanui farm between 1999 and 2012.
The court was told the charges related to upwards of 300 offences.
Justice Matthew Muir said it was hard to imagine a “more egregious” case of sexual offending – and the words “sickening and depraved” came readily to mind.
Laken Maree Rose (right) and Andrew Alan Williams (left) were jailed in 2021 for a combined 42 years for a string of sexual abuses of young children. Photo / George Novak
In February 2019 Auckland rugby coach Alosio Taimo was sentenced to 22 years’ jail with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years for sex offending against boys aged between 9 and 16 spanning 30 years.
Taimo was accused of abusing boys at his home, in his car, in school sports sheds, in a classroom and in a South Auckland park from 1987 to 2016.
The youngest of Taimo’s alleged victims was 9 at the time, while the eldest was 16.
Initially, there were nine complainants and 53 charges against Taimo,
By the time his trial began there were 106 charges and 18 victims.
Pask’s offending spanned a decade and was described by Judge Garry Barkle as involving a “complex level of manipulative and secretive behaviour”.
He had earlier admitted more than 250 offences. His charges included 20 counts of unlawful sexual connection with a female under 12, a further 20 charges of performing an indecent act on a girl under 12, 17 charges of knowingly making an objectionable publication and three charges of knowingly possessing an objectionable publication.
Almost all were representative charges, meaning multiple offences of the same type occurred within a single charge.
Gregory Pask was a "grandfather figure" in the Blenheim community.
Are you worried about a child?
If there is a real risk that the child will be harmed, ring police on 111.
You can also contact your local police by clicking here.
If you are worried a tamariki or rangatahi may be suffering from ill-treatment, abuse or neglect; or experiencing abuse but you’re not sure if you should be concerned, and want advice, reach out to Oranga Tamariki by phone 24 hours a day on 0508 326 459 or email contact@ot.govt.nz
Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz
