KEY POINTS:
The sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl had ruined her faith in human nature, Greymouth District Court was told during the sentencing of a Dunedin man.
"He brainwashed me, made me feel cool. I tend to think the worst of people now. It's made me suspicious of everyone," the girl, now 16, said in a victim impact report.
Craig Wayne Bennett, 54, was yesterday jailed for 21 months after he admitted two representative counts of indecently assaulting the girl in Greymouth during 2003.
After the authorities learned of the offending, Bennett disappeared and so he was not charged until 2006 when police finally located him in Dunedin.
Bennett had elected trial by jury but this week admitted the offending when Judge Phil Moran indicated on Tuesday that the mandatory prison sentence would be less than two years, and that he would grant leave to apply for home detention.
Judge Moran said it was indecent assault at the lower end of the scale but Bennett had committed a serious breach of trust and the consequences on the victim were deep seated and long lasting.
Until Tuesday, Bennett had denied the offending and maintained that denial when he turned up for the preparation of a probation report.
"I am not impressed that you have pleaded guilty but maintained a denial in the probation report," Judge Moran said.
"Had I known that (on Tuesday) I would have had second thoughts about home detention, but I will leave it to the Parole Board to sort out whether you are an appropriate candidate for home detention."
Lawyer Richard Bodle said Bennett was an otherwise model citizen, a good parent and grandparent.
- NZPA
