KEY POINTS:
A paedophile who burst back into a victim's nightmare as her wedding photographer was today jailed for 6-1/2 years for rape.
Peter Herbert Parker, 54, of Hastings, was appearing in Napier District Court, where he had denied the charge at a trial last month, despite admitting other indecencies against the victim, another girl, and a boy, in the 1970s and 80s.
Judge Bridget Mackintosh rated the denial, forcing the victim to give evidence in court, as an aggravating factor, on top of the age of the victims at the time they were abused, the years over which offences continued, and Parker's abuse of a position as a family friend.
The offences started with games Parker invited the children to play when he visited their home, and ended with the rape of one girl during a family trip to a beach when she was about nine.
All three victims kept it a secret for years, with one revealing today it ruined her life.
Her grief came in a victim impact statement she prepared for the sentencing, but was unable to present because of a delay getting to court.
She told how, feeling let-down by other adults around her, she kept it secret, as did the rape victim who told a jury last month she remained silent even when she had to face her wedding day with Parker as the photographer.
The victim impact statement said that when its writer was about nine she started realising what Parker was doing was "not right," but she didn't know what to do about it.
She lost faith in her parents, males, and "all adults," her schooling failed amid the anger issues which developed, and as she grew up she had problems with relationships, which affected job and family opportunities.
"This experience has ruined my whole life," she said.
Judge Mackintosh doubted Parker understood the impact, saying a probation officer observed his remorse seemed more focused on his own demise than concern for what he had caused to others.
Judge Mackintosh sentenced Parker to 6-1/2 years for the rape, and concurrent terms of three years for each of six charges representing multiple sexual assaults and indecent acts with the children.
- NZPA
