Paul Meek was jailed today at Christchurch District Court. Photo / File
A “cruel and depraved” family friend who groomed and sexually preyed on a young girl while offering free art lessons has today been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.
Paul Meek, 62, was branded a “demon” by the mother of a child who was sexually assaulted by Meek between the ages of 7 and 11.
The young girl remembers thinking it was “weird” what the trusted Meek was doing to her when she went over to his house.
She liked his pet dog and Meek was teaching her how to paint.
Now, aged 11, she wonders why she didn’t tell her mother earlier that Meek was touching her and sexually abusing her.
Father-of-one Meek was sentenced at Christchurch District Court today after admitting charges of rape of a child under 12, indecent assault, and unlawful sexual connection.
The court heard how a mutual friend introduced Meek to the victim’s family.
He had been involved in a charity in Christchurch and for more than half a century had led a productive life, active in the community, with no criminal convictions.
Meek and the girl’s family became close. He would cook them meals. The girl would visit him, while her mother even trusted him to look after her while she worked.
But behind closed doors, Meek would touch the girl inappropriately, firstly above her clothing, but later beneath.
The court heard disturbing details of Meek’s depraved attacks, which happened repeatedly, from when the child was 7 until she was 11 and he was arrested.
When a police officer knocked on the mother’s door earlier this year and informed her that Meek had been sexually abusing her daughter, she was shocked. She found it hard to believe, the court heard.
Now, she regrets ever trusting Meek and sending her daughter to his house.
She’s blamed herself and suffered depression despite counselling.
Today, she branded Meek a “demon” who had damaged her family’s future and hoped that he gets the “punishment he deserves”.
Defence counsel Josh Lucas said Meek’s confession to police, where he gave a full account “well and above” what the victim had told them, should see him get a reduction in his sentence, having saved a significant amount of police investigations and ensured the victim didn’t have to endure a lengthy and upsetting trial process.
A cultural report prepared for the court was “pretty sorry reading” of how he grew up, Lucas said, but highlighted that Meek had no previous convictions and for most of his life had been an active, helpful member of the community.
He now has major health issues, including cancer which is in remission but could “rear its ugly head” in the future, his lawyer said. He said Meek is looking forward to one day getting out of Christchurch Mens’ Prison and into a unit that can focus more on his rehabilitation.
The Crown accepted that Meek appears to show some “genuine remorse” for his offending.
In sentencing, Judge Michael Crosbie said Meek had preyed on a “vulnerable, innocent” child over a period of years.
Meek’s offending was “pre-meditated, cruel and depraved and committed for your own sexual gratification”, the judge said.
While he acknowledged a pre-sentence report that highlighted Meek’s difficult upbringing, he struggled to see a link between what happened to him 40 years ago and his offending.
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