A man has been jailed for four years after having sex with two underage girls.
A man has been jailed for four years after having sex with two underage girls.
A former Whangarei Navy rating who had sexual connection with two girls aged 13 and 14 has been jailed for four years after being told by a judge he was lucky not to be facing a far more serious charge.
Myles George Philip Kaka, 27, appeared in Whangarei District Courtfor sentencing after a jury found him guilty of six counts of sexual connection with the two girls in 2010 while he was home on leave from the NZ Navy.
Judge Duncan Harvey said the charges were serious, as indicated by the maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, but said Kaka was "extremely lucky" he did not get charged with the more serious offence of sexual violation (which carries a 20-year maximum jail term) after he had anal intercourse with the younger girl.
Judge Harvey said one of the purposes of sentencing was to hold a person to account for their actions, but he felt that would be wasted here as Kaka continued - as was his right - to deny the offences.
He said the girls gave good descriptions of Kaka's bedroom, where the offences took place, and they would not have been able to do that if they had not been in the room.
Judge Harvey said the pre-sentence report found Kaka a high risk of reoffending.
"The fact that you maintain your innocence is, I suspect, face-saving as far as your whanau is concerned," the judge said. The whanau continued to support Kaka.
He said Kaka had targeted one of the girls, who then put him in contact with the younger girl. Judge Harvey said the younger girl was treated in a demeaning manner, with Kaka also offering to pay her money for oral sex "like a common prostitute".
Judge Harvey said while it appeared the girls were willing participants, when it came to girls aged 13 and 14 "in my view any suggestion of consent must be put to one side ... you were the adult and she was the child".
He said aggravating the case was the fact that Kaka was also convicted of indecent assault while he was on bail awaiting the conclusion of these charges.
The father of the younger girl read her victim impact statement to the court, saying the offences had left the girl feeling scared and mistrustful and she had lived with guilt from the case for almost four years. Bullying had forced her out of school.
