Sentencing ends town's arson nightmare

For three months, Kaitaia was terrorised by a series of deliberately lit fires.

In the Whangarei District Court yesterday, Lee Jo van Haaren was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in jail after being convicted of lighting eight of the damaging blazes.

The 44-year-old will serve a minimum of 4 1/2 years behind bars.

She had pleaded not guilty to 11 arson charges but in August a jury convicted her on eight of the charges.

The court was told that between February and May 2005, van Haaren set fires that gutted a classroom block at Kaitaia Primary School, causing more than $600,000 worth of damage, She also destroyed an historic 99-year-old villa housing the Far North Arts Centre.

She was convicted of lighting six other fires - two at the Far North District Council offices, the Kaitaia Community Centre, a Kaitaia church, the Waitomo Papakainga Development Society building and one next to a house where she thought a teacher was living.

Judge John McDonald said van Haaren had kept newspaper clippings of her attacks and talked of claiming a reward posted for information leading to her capture.

Crown prosecutor Peter Magee said van Haaren's actions had had a huge impact on the community, especially the primary school fire.

"If a person wished to tear the heart and soul out of a community the one very sure way they can achieve that goal is to attack an educational institution."

Mr Magee said van Haaren's actions warranted a lengthy prison sentence of up to nine years with a minimum non-parole period. Such a sentence would allow people to feel justice had finally been done.

Defence lawyer Catherine Cull sought a sentence of five years, saying van Haaren's offending was not serious enough to justify the sentence the Crown was seeking.

She opposed a non- parole period, saying her client would not be automatically released after serving a third of her sentence.

Judge McDonald said authorities become concerned for van Haaren's young granddaughter when they discovered she was sleeping rough with the child.

In January 2005 the child was removed by Child Youth and Family.

Judge McDonald said van Haaren was upset at losing her grandchild and blamed everyone. She held a grudge against Child Youth and Family and devised a method to get revenge.

He said that on February 14 she lit the fire that destroyed an "irreplaceable" 99-year-old villa where the art centre was housed. The fire also damaged $22,500 worth of art equipment.

The judge said van Haaren lit the school fire on 16 April 2005 because she blamed the school for her granddaughter being taken.

Van Haaren's offending had affected the entire Kaitaia township and it was appropriate that she should serve at least 60 per cent of her jail sentence before being considered for parole, he said.

The judge told her yesterday that while she was at large there must have been a feeling of unease in the town, a feeling that left people wondering who would be targeted next.

Van Haaren was jailed for 7 1/2 years for the school fire, five years for the art's centre blaze and 2 1/2 years for each of the remaining six fires. The sentences are concurrent.

Kaitaia Volunteer Fire Brigade spokesman Colin Kitchen said the sentencing finally brought a sense of closure. "I've been a member of the Kaitaia brigade for 38 years and that time was the most stressful of my career," Mr Kitchen said. Once there was an arrest, it was a huge relief, he said.

Mr Kitchen said one of the worst aspects of the crimes was the suspicion placed on firefighters.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)