Political figure who sexually abused two teens sentenced to two-and-a-half years' jail
by Anneke Smith · RNZWarning: This story discusses details of sexual abuse.
A former political figure who sexually abused two teenage boys nearly 30 years ago has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
The man, who is not a sitting MP, sexually assaulted two young teenagers he mentored through a sports club in the mid- to late-1990s.
He continues to deny any offending after being found guilty of eight charges of indecent assault after a week-long jury trial in the Auckland District Court in August.
Judge David Sharp has now sentenced him to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment, taking into account discounts for good character and reparations of $1500 for each victim.
The judge acknowledged the man maintained his innocence but said he still had to consider the emotional harm done, having listened to the survivors' stories of intense suffering.
Judge Sharp said the offender had abused the teenage boys when they were asleep, drunk or unconscious and that it had been a substantial breach of trust, given his seniority to them in their sports club.
The former political figure has had interim name suppression for 667 days now and is now asking the court for a permanent order, his sixth request for further secrecy.
The man's lawyer Ian Brookie said the offender had already instructed him to challenge his sentence in the High Court and applied for bail pending appeal.
This was declined by Judge Sharp, who also denied the offender's request for a deferral of imprisonment of at least one week to "put his affairs in order".
RNZ, Stuff and TVNZ have all opposed the the man's continued bids for name suppression, arguing there are no grounds for further name suppression.
Victim impact statements
The court heard moving victim impact statements from both of the survivors, the first read aloud by Detective Sergeant Richard Veacock who investigated a complaint he made in 1999 that did not lead to any charges.
The survivor told the court the abuse had haunted him for decades and he had had horrible nightmares where he was raped and killed by the offender, waking up gasping for breath.
He found wiping his newborn's bottom during a nappy change confronting and, when a friend asked why he was having trouble, blurted out that he had been sexually abused as a young person, he said.
The survivor said the cost and effort of participating in the justice process and therapy had left him and his family poorer and exhausted, suggesting he had considered killing himself.
He also addressed the offender's protracted legal battle for name suppression had been deeply distressing and made him feel like his life was less valuable than that of a convicted abuser.
The second survivor stood two metres from the offender as he stood to share his victim impact statement in person on Friday morning.
He said he had been "young and vulnerable" when he was abused and the trauma had cycled through him into his relationships with his friends, family and workmates.
He struggled with alcoholism and his mental wellbeing and had since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and alcohol misuse disorder since, he said.
The second survivor added he had had panic attacks and periods of dissociation during August's trial and would continue to fight to lift his own automatic name suppression so he could tell his story openly.
This survivor earlier told RNZ he supported the government's proposed law change that would give victims, not judges, the power to decide if a convicted sex offender got permanent name suppression.
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