Former Hastings jockey found guilty of repeated sexual assault

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for around 10 hours before finding a former Hastings jockey guilty of years of sexual assault.
David John Frethey, 55, now a sickness beneficiary, was found guilty of eight counts of sexual and physical assault against a girl between the ages of six and 12, and three counts of perverting the course of justice.
However, the jury did not find him guilty of raping the girl.
The court room was quiet when the verdict was read out, though family and friends of the girl hugged each other in joy outside the court.
During the trial the crown argued Frethey had injected himself into a vulnerable family where he used his relationship with the girl for his own pleasure.
The complainant spoke about how she kept details of abuse to herself because she was ``frightened and embarrassed'', though she had to speak out when it was revealed she was pregnant at 13.
In his closing arguments crown prosecutor Steve Manning said Frethey's relationship with the girl and her mother involved ``many years of sexualising her from a young age, brutalising her, and making her available for his sexual advances''.
He had first become involved with the family when the girl was six, offering transportation along with money and gifts.
When allegations arose against Frethey, shortly after the girl had given birth, he systematically set about to discredit the case against him by getting relatives and friends to contact social agencies and point blame elsewhere.
It was said Frethey hand-delivered a letter to the mother's partner he was jealous of, which read ``no texting, no phone calls, stay away from those people at [address] or we will get you arrested for raping [the mother].''
He also allegedly gave his ex daughter-in-law written instructions to phone Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) and fake concern for the girl's newly born baby, claiming the mother's partner was the father and the baby a product of rape, and that the mother beat her and the girl would often run away and stay on the street.
He is scheduled to appear for sentencing in March.