The stepfather's offending occurred over four years when the girl was under 12 years old, but when she came forward as a teenager she was not believed. Photo / 123rf
WARNING: This story deals with sexual abuse and may be distressing.
A victim who spoke out about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather was disowned by her family and forced to navigate the world alone at 17.
Now, her stepfather has been sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison for sexually violating her as a child.
The Whangārei man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, went through two trials in 2023.
The first jury trial at Whangārei District Court was heard earlier this year when that jury found him guilty on four charges and could not reach a verdict on 17 others.
Later this year, another jury found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the remaining 17 charges.
At his sentencing this week for 10 charges of unlawful sexual connection of a girl and 11 charges of indecent act of a girl under the age of 12, the court heard the extreme effects the victim suffered from his actions.
The man met the victim’s mother when the girl was a young child, and the couple went on to have children of their own.
The jury found the man groomed and sexually violated the girl on multiple occasions over a four-year period at times when he was alone in the house with her.
When she came forward as a teenager, her family, including her mother, did not believe her and she was kicked out of home triggering a long list of side effects.
“I was disowned and kicked off the land my marae sits on. I’ve been made to feel unwelcome on my whānau land and my marae, not being able to return there makes me feel sick,” her victim impact statement said.
“My bond with my mother is irreparable.”
The victim described the pain of being separated from her siblings and how she fell into self-harm, prescription drug addiction, and alcohol abuse and was hospitalised multiple times for drug overdoses.
“The love for my siblings kept me going, that they might need me one day.
“You have caused more division than you know,” she told the man.
“You knew it was wrong what you were doing. You are a monster. Today is the day this chapter of my life ends.”
Judge John McDonald said the man, who continued to deny the offending, manipulated the power imbalance in the relationship.
“You told her, ‘You can’t tell Mum because you will get in trouble’.
“You were blaming her like it was her fault,” Judge McDonald said.
“You were her father, not her biological father, but her father and she looked on you as that. This was ongoing sexual abuse and you tried to explain it away but your evidence was nonsense.
“You had all the control, she had none.”
Judge McDonald sentenced the man to 10 years and 10 months imprisonment and ordered that he be added to the child sex offenders register.
He will be required to go before the Parole Board for release.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
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