Alister Grant Harlow outside the Auckland District Court in 2020. Photo / Alex Burton
Alister Grant Harlow outside the Auckland District Court in 2020. Photo / Alex Burton
A former Dilworth associate housemaster who was involved in the Auckland school's Scouts group has been sentenced to three years and eight months' prison for sexual abuse of students in the 1980s and 1990s.
Alister Grant Harlow, 62, stood before Judge Mary-Beth Sharp in Auckland District Court today as his victims confronted him in person and via audio-video feed.
In a letter read aloud by his lawyer, he described the hearing as a relief of sorts.
"I lived for 30 years fearful of the knock on the door but didn't have the courage to confess to anyone," he wrote. "I know I'm responsible for hurting you and damaging you when you were young.
"I feel their pain," she said of the moving victim impact statements. "I don't doubt for a single solitary minute that their lives haven't been miserable beyond compare as a result of what you did to them."
Harlow pleaded guilty to three charges in November and three more representative charges in February. His offending was against at least four boys over the course of nearly a decade.
He was caught in bed spooning a homesick young boy in one of Dilworth's dormitories on a weekend night in 1994 and was told to leave the dormitory. That victim recalled telling his mother about it shortly after it happened.
"She told me to stop talking about it and go back to school," he said in a written victim impact statement that was read aloud by prosecutors. "That was really hard."
The three representative charges related to another student who was abused between January 1987 and September 1991. Harlow also served as a Scout leader when the abuse first began as the boy attended Scout camp, according to court documents. In the months that followed, the then-28-year-old arranged more overnight camping trips with the boy that resulted in unwanted touching, as well as overnight stays at his home during weekends and holidays.
The victim later told authorities he was uncomfortable with the situation but felt disempowered to come forward. On one occasion around that time, Harlow also caned the boy, who described "feeling completely powerless and unable to resist". The abuse led him to have suicidal thoughts, the victim said.
Once he became a teenager, the student left the school and moved away from Auckland. But Harlow came to visit him and stayed overnight, court documents state.
"As Harlow became more physically insistent [the victim] summoned the courage to challenge Harlow, asking what he was doing," authorities noted in the agreed summary of facts. "At this point Harlow stopped and made no further attempts to touch [him]."
Abuse happened again the next year when Harlow arranged for the teenager to carry out work on a family property in Whangārei Heads and set up a tent in a remote area. With no way to get home, the victim said he was forced to spend the night.
Other accusers described similar arrangements, and how Harlow abused them while they slept next to each other at the property.
One boy described turning himself into police after committing a crime and the "unwanted arrival" of Harlow, who took on the role of "support person" for the subsequent investigation. It had a substantial impact on his mental state, he reported.
Alister Harlow was the head of the NZ Roadmarking Federation. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
One of the victims paused to wipe away tears as he stood up to speak in court today, describing how the abuse ruined him in a very vulnerable time of his life - resulting in drug and alcohol abuse, psychological damage and a failed marriage in the decades that followed.
"Outwardly, you projected an image of respectability," he said, describing him as leading a "masked double-life". "The veneer of your life has been removed and you finally face the consequences of your actions."
Another victim, speaking via audio-video feed, described Harlow's offending as "slow, patient, calculated and deliberate".
"I must have looked like easy prey for you back then, and I was," the now 43-year-old said.
He agreed with the victim who spoke before him that it was somewhat satisfying to finally see Harlow in the vulnerable position - "knowing the full country knows your name and what you've done".
A letter from the man's mother described him as having entered Dilworth a "bright, inquisitive" 10-year-old and having left a "broken and bitter teen".
Dilworth staff records show Harlow was an assistant housemaster and later an associate housemaster of Erin house between 1985 and 1992 and was assistant housemaster of the junior campus' Gibson House for two years after that.
He was living in Hillsborough and listed his occupation as an accountant at the time of his arrest on the historic charges. In more recent years, Harlow had been known for his decades volunteering with the Pūkorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre. He was also until recently executive director of the New Zealand Roadmarkers Federation.
Harlow is one of 11 former Dilworth staff members - including tutors, fellow housemasters and a priest - who were charged as the result of a large-scale police investigation dubbed Operation Beverly.
A jury found co-defendant Leonard Cave, a 75-year-old who formerly served as music teacher at the school, guilty one month ago of sexually abusing and providing drugs to his former students. He is set to be sentenced next month.
As it has in the past following the sentencing of other Dilworth historic sexual abuse defendants, the school issued an apology today to the children who were targeted.
"His offending was a gross breach of trust, and today's sentencing in relation to these charges is a further step towards justice for our Old Boy survivors," said Dilworth Trust Board chairman Aaron Snodgrass in an email distributed to the media.
"We are deeply sorry for the hurt caused to Old Boy survivors in our care. The abuse suffered by some of the Old Boys during their time at school is, and was, completely unacceptable."
The school noted again that current officials have established an "independent inquiry to understand how this abuse occurred, including the school's response at the time", which survivors can participate in by going to www.dilworthinquiry.org.nz.
"Dilworth is willing and prepared to recognise our responsibility for what happened to Old Boy survivors. We will listen to and learn from the Inquiry's findings and carefully consider any recommendations it makes." Survivours can also receive free professional counselling by emailing assist@dobsupport.com
More than 150 men have made allegations as a result of Operation Beverly. The allegations span five decades, from the 1960s to the early 2000s.
The boarding school opened in 1906 with the aim of helping boys from disadvantaged families.
Sexual harm - how to get 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 call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334. (available 24/7) • Male Survivors Aotearoa offers a range of confidential support at centres across New Zealand - find your closest one here. • Mosaic - Tiaki Tangata: 0800 94 22 94 (available 11am - 8pm) • Alternatively contact your local police station. • If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.
