Warning: This story discusses sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers
A father invited his friend over for drinks only to later find the guest in his preschool daughter’s bedroom sexually assaulting her.
It was an act the father had overheard and walked in on, and said the moment continues to haunt him.
“I felt like I had failed her. What I have seen has haunted me,” he told the Hamilton District Court this week, during the sentencing of Greig Thomas.
The court heard Thomas was invited to the man’s house early last year and the pair spent time together socialising.
At one point, Thomas said he needed to use the bathroom.
But as time passed, the father became concerned his friend was taking a while and went to find him.
Walking down the hallway, he noticed the toilet door open. He then heard noises coming from his daughter’s bedroom.
Thomas was performing a sexual act on the young girl and could be heard telling her it was “just a game”.
The man kicked Thomas out and went to the police.
While Thomas continues to deny any wrongdoing, a Hamilton jury found otherwise.
Thomas was found guilty of two charges of sexual conduct with a child under 12, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
At his sentencing on Wednesday before Judge Glen Marshall, the girl’s father said through his victim impact statement that he had invited Thomas into his home “and trusted him to be around [her]”.
The father never doubted his ability to keep the toddler safe and struggled to comprehend what happened.
Judge Marshall said Thomas had sent a series of text messages to the father to “try and justify or explain” what happened.
“I must admit they were somewhat incomprehensible given what the father saw,” the judge said.
Thomas had tried to blame it on mixing alcohol with his medication and said he was unwell before having a “convenient loss of memory”.
At trial, Thomas told the jury that “nothing happened of a sexual nature”.
Crown solicitor Amy Alcock said the offending was aggravated by the fact there was skin-on-skin contact and the victim was vulnerable, given her young age at the time.
There was also a breach of trust as Thomas was invited into the victim’s home.
Defence counsel Melissa James accepted the victim was vulnerable but denied a breach of trust. She submitted Thomas was not responsible for the girl’s day-to-day care.
James described the offending as “one-off and opportunistic” rather than something that occurred over a long period.
Thomas had no other convictions for similar offending.
He’d been employed in the past and was himself a father. She submitted he had already spent time in custody which was a “punishment in itself”.
Judge Marshall agreed the offending was not a breach of trust and accepted Thomas’ lack of previous criminal history and that it was a one-off. He gave him a 10% discount and a further 5% for a serious head injury he suffered 10 years ago.
But the facts of the case were too serious for anything other than jail, the judge said.
“Given you were 51 and we’re dealing with a naked [preschooler], and skin-to-skin contact ... my view is that requires a deterrent message to be sent out not only to you but other members of the community that will offend in this way.
“I do not deem home detention to be appropriate.”
Judge Marshall told Thomas his current “state of denial” was a concern and jailed him for 23 months.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
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