A former Scouts New Zealand leader was sentenced today for his indecent acts against young people in his care, dating back to the 1980s. Photo / NZME
Warning: This story discusses the sexual abuse of young people and may be distressing for some readers.
“I’m not going to let you ruin the rest of my life.”
Those were the words of one of the four victims sexually abused by their former scoutmaster - a man they likened to a father.
Today, the emotional victim impact statements filled the Wellington District Court as the now 71-year-old, who has continued name suppression, was jailed for three years and seven months.
Following a four-week trial, the man was found guilty of sex crimes he committed against boys he took on scouting trips around the country during his more than 40 years with the movement.
At the sentencing, one of his victims said the man had stolen his teenage years.
He said his adolescence should have been his most enjoyable period and he would not let the man ruin the rest of his life.
The mother of the victim said the damage caused by the abuse could not be calculated.
She said her son was once a “firecracker of a kid” but his light faded when the abuse, which they were not aware of at the time, began.
Generations of Scouts had trusted the leader, someone the mother said was “utterly unworthy of that trust”.
The man, who was involved with Scouts New Zealand for around four decades from the 1980s, had targeted his victims while on camps and tramps.
He encouraged nudity and streaking while on the trips and forced masturbation. On other occasions, he exposed his genitals and indecently assaulted the boys.
The man also had in his possession a number of naked images he had taken of young boys.
His membership in Scouts New Zealand ended after an internal investigation in 2018.
Another victim at the sentencing said he lived with strong feelings of anger, which he likened to “a constant storm”. He said every day was a struggle and he hated waking up.
But another victim took a different position when giving his statement. He said it was never too late for the man to turn a new leaf and hoped he had the courage to do so “before his time runs out”.
Judge Peter Hobbs said the scoutmaster’s offending had a prolonged and lasting impact.
The man had claimed a sexual encounter with one of the victims was consensual and that he believed the boy was 16.
But the judge rejected this and said the “excuses made were implausible to the extreme”.
Of the four victims, two were particularly vulnerable and there was an element of grooming, Judge Hobbs said.
The offending breached the trust of the boys who had looked up to the leader as a “father figure”.
“Rather than honouring that trust, you sexually abused them,” Judge Hobbs said.
“[It was a] gross breach of trust on your part and indicative of your sexual interest in young adolescent boys”
When jailing the man on 13 counts of performing an indecent act on a young person and two of indecency between a man and a boy, the judge said the former leader had shown no remorse and had taken no responsibility for his offending.
Defence lawyer Mike Antunovic immediately indicated his client would seek to appeal against his convictions.
Name suppression continued pending the appeal but a bail application was denied and the man was remanded into custody.
Antunovic said the man maintained his innocence and feared being stripped of the awards and achievements he had collected for his contribution to Scouts New Zealand.
“His humiliation, your honour, is huge ... he feels today that he has virtually lost everything,” he said.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.