Golf tutor rapist gets hefty term

A former golf professional at Titirangi Golf Club who is already serving six years' for sex crimes against junior golfers has been sentenced to a further 11 1/2 years for raping two girls a quarter of a century ago.

After Justice Patricia Courtney sentenced Michael Joseph O'Leary, 44, in the High Court at Auckland yesterday, defence counsel Ron Mansfield, who was clearly surprised, questioned whether the terms were concurrent or cumulative.

She assured him they were cumulative, meaning O'Leary is now serving an effective term of 17 1/2 years.

Immediately after the hearing, Mr Mansfield said the sentence was excessive and would be appealed against.

The offences happened when O'Leary was the coach at the Lansdowne golf course at Masterton.

One of his victims was 8 and the other 12.

In June last year O'Leary was jailed for six years by Judge Anne Kiernan in the Auckland District Court after he admitted indecently assaulting a young female relative in the 1980s.

He also pleaded guilty to indecent assault charges against three boys aged 12, 13 and 14, who were junior golfers at the Titirangi club.

He groomed them with alcohol and pornographic videos.

After publicity in the Herald about the case two women now in their 30s came forward to complain that they were raped when O'Leary was coach at Masterton.

In May, a jury in the High Court at Auckland found him guilty on two charges of rape, one of attempted rape, seven of indecent assault, and two of inducing an indecent act.

Some of the offending took place in the Masterton golf club pro shop.

Justice Courtney said that O'Leary exploited the girls, who were young and naive and had no knowledge of sexual matters.

She accepted a submission from Crown prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch that while some of the offending was opportunistic, there was clear premeditation by O'Leary in relation to many of the incidents.

The judge said that the effects on the women had been profound. One suffered depression, anxiety and nightmares, and the other had attempted suicide and lived in fear of her own children being abused.

Mr Mansfield told the judge that O'Leary had shown a preparedness to seek assistance for the problems he acknowledged he had.

In his pre-sentence report, O'Leary said he did not remember the incidents, but accepted what the complainants said.

This was viewed with scepticism by Mr Pilditch and the judge said it fell short of remorse.

In addition she said she did not accept as mitigating factors O'Leary's age at the time of the offending - 19 or 20 - nor the fact that he had been sexually abused as a child.

Both Crown and defence said that the sentence ought to be cumulative on the earlier six-year term, with an adjustment to take into account the "totality principle".

The judge adopted a starting point of 13 1/2 years but reduced the term to 11 1/2 years. It was a "matter of coincidence" that O'Leary was already in prison.