A 35-year-old Napier beneficiary, John Bryan, has been jailed for having sex with an underage girl - and the father of the teenager says the case is a warning for parents to keep a close eye on their children.
At a hearing in the Napier District Court recently, Bryan was found
guilty of having unlawful sex with a girl aged under 16. The offences related to a period of a few weeks between December 2003 and January 2004.
The girl was 13 at the time the offending began. Although the sex had been consensual, it had been an abuse of trust, the girl's father said.
Young girls (and boys) had to be "protected from themselves" at that age and an older man had no right to take advantage of their naivety or innocence.
The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, contacted Hawke's Bay Today to warn parents to keep watch over their children, even around people they trust.
He said he knew his daughter used to visit Bryan's home, as did other young people in the area.
But after a while, the father began to have doubts.
In once instance, his 13-year-old daughter came home with alcohol on her breath. Rumours started spreading among the children in the street and eventually his eldest son told him that Bryan had had sex with his daughter.
His daughter had received counselling since the offending and the father's main worry was that psychological damage would show up in years to come.
However, the family would pull together and he would keep an eye on his daughter, he said.
