Relief for mother in abduction case

"I didn't know where my baby was for 45 minutes. I couldn't hold her or do anything to help her."

Those are the words of a mother whose 5-year-old daughter was abducted in Tauranga last December as she walked to school with her brother.

The woman - who cannot be named, to protect the identity of her daughter - is overjoyed that unemployed 19-year-old Tony Douglas Robertson, of Tauranga, was found guilty in the High Court at Rotorua of abducting the girl with the purpose of sexual connection.

Robertson, who denied all charges, was also found guilty on Monday of performing three indecent acts on the girl after he lured her into his car on December 15, last year; of robbing a 12-year-old boy of his cellphone and attempting to kidnap two other children the day before.

"I'm happy. It's good it's over, and I'm stoked with the outcome," the woman said.

The family returned to Wanganui this year because of the abduction. They wanted the support of family who live there.

The woman tries not to think about the day her daughter was taken and she spent 45 minutes waiting as police searched.

"I was one of the lucky ones because I got my baby back - lots of people don't."

She was proud of the way her daughter gave evidence and coped with the ordeal.

The Bay of Plenty Times reported that the girl told the court someone "stole" her while she walked to school with her older brother.

"He said that my Mum had a Christmas present for me ... and then he told me that my Mum was supposed to meet me at the Mount beach," she said.

When the girl was told of the guilty verdict yesterday she had a "big smile" on her face.

Her mother said Robertson "needed to be shot" for what he had done.

He will be sentenced in Auckland in early October and the woman planned to write a victim impact statement for the judge.

The officer in charge of the case, Detective Peter Blackwell, said he was delighted with the verdict, which took a jury of eight men and four women about fours hours to reach after a six-day trial.

Robertson did not react as the verdict was announced.

- WANGANUI CHRONICLE