Grandfather figure jailed after sexually abusing young girl in his care

A 53-year-old man who repeatedly sexually violated a young girl in his care was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment when he appeared in the Whanganui District Court on Friday. Photo / File

WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers.

A man known by his young victim as “Grandad” but whose sinister side came out after dark has been jailed for sexually abusing the girl during a 14-month period.

The 53-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Judge Jonathan Krebs in the Whanganui District Court on Friday for sentencing.

He went on trial in March 2023, accused of repeatedly sexually abusing the victim, who was aged between 7 and 8 at the time, after pleading not guilty to six charges including four of unlawful sexual violation, and one each of indecent assault and rape.

However, two days into the trial the defendant, represented by lawyer Megan Jaquiery, changed his plea and admitted two charges of unlawful sexual connection.

Judge Krebs said aggravating factors included the frequency and range of offending, the high impact it had on the victim, her vulnerability including her young age and that she was living away from family as well as the breach of trust.

He began with a starting point of 15 years’ imprisonment but after allowing a discount of 20 per cent for the man’s guilty pleas, remorse, prospects of rehabilitation, and an allowance for mental health issues as well as the difficulty those issues would contribute while in prison, an end sentence of 12 years was imposed.

Crown prosecutor Rufus Hancock, who had told the jury during the trial the girl knew the offender as “Granddad”, withdrew the remaining charges at sentencing.

During the trial, the court heard the offending took place at the South Taranaki home of the man, who had previously been involved in a relationship with a relative of the girl, between March 2016 and May 2017 while she was in his care.

The defendant would wake her up and take her into his bed where the abuse took place, the jury heard.

The victim disclosed the offending to her mother after returning to live with her.

At trial, Jaquiery described the girl as a troubled kid who was exposed at a young age to horrific things, including domestic violence, and she asked the jury to keep one word in mind: “suggestibility”.

Jaquiery said the victim’s mother wasn’t coping at the time and had sent her daughter to live with the defendant, who was known as a “trusted grandfather”.

“It’s not the defendant asking to have her, it’s the mother who asked him.”

He had expressed remorse through letters written to the victim and her mother and it was accepted he was willing to undertake any steps necessary to address his sexual offending.

The defendant would be registered on the Child Sex Offender register but no minimum period of imprisonment was imposed.

Leighton Keith joined NZME as an Open Justice reporter based in Whanganui in 2022. He’s been a journalist for 20 years covering a variety of topics and rounds.