Capill sentenced to nine years for child sex crimes

Graham Capill at an earlier court appearance. Picture / John McCombe

Former politician and police prosecutor Graham Capill was today handed a nine-year jail sentence for his sex crimes against three young girls.

The ex-Christian Heritage Party leader, 46, was sentenced in Christchurch District Court for raping a girl under 12, indecent assault and unlawful sexual connection.

Judge Robert Kerr sentenced Capill to seven years in prison for rape, three years for unlawful sexual connection to be served concurrently, and two years for indecent assault.

He set no minimum parole period.

Judge Kerr said he had decided on a nine-year sentence after taking into account the mitigating factor of Capill's guilty pleas, which had saved the three complainants from having to give distressing personal details about the offending.

He also took into account that the offending was over a period of 12 years, from 1990 to 2002, and that the victims had been left distressed, suffered anxiety, loneliness, despair, and that one had considered suicide.

Judge Kerr said there was an element of premeditation over such a long period.

It was revealed yesterday that Capill emailed friends two weeks ago saying that his sex with one of his young victims was consensual.

He asked his friends to pray for a lenient judge and prison term.

Capill raised the possibility of being sent to prison for nine years, and said he hoped to serve only one-third of his sentence.

His rape victim was just eight when he began abusing her, according to the Crown. He raped her twice before her 12th birthday.

Capill was the minister at the Christian college the rape victim attended. What began as groping the then-eight-year-old had escalated to rape by the time the abuse ended years later.

For another girl, being sexually abused by Capill formed her earliest childhood memory.

In February this year, when Capill was working as a police prosecutor in Christchurch, Anglican vicar Wally Behan alerted police to allegations involving a young girl.

In April, Capill admitted indecently assaulting that girl and was awaiting sentence when the other two women came forward, and in June he pleaded guilty to rape, three further charges of indecent assault and unlawful sexual connection.