Teacher jailed for historical rape

JAILTIME: A male teacher has been jailed for raping a child, who was not his student, decades ago. PHOTO/FILE

A teacher found guilty in a matter of minutes of historical rape has been sentenced to two years and three months' imprisonment.

The man, who cannot be named, had a teaching career spanning more than 40 years when he was charged with raping and indecently assaulting a child, who was not a student of his.

Throughout a two-day trial in the Napier District Court in August the complainant told the jury he first touched her when she was 12 years old, before matters progressed to full intercourse.

This was backed up by a second witness who told the court he had watched her carry the emotional burden for decades.

"You could see it wearing her down, the whole thing. It was a prison sentence she had. It was wearing her down."

The offending was categorically denied by the accused and by his wife, who took the stand and told the court that as a practising Catholic she had taken a vow to tell the truth.

During the trial Crown prosecutor Steve Manning told the jury the fact the incidents had occurred a long time ago made them "no less important to the woman who alleges today that they happened".

"She simply wants her day in court and wants to be believed," he said.

It took the jury of six men and six women just 45 minutes to find the man guilty of one count of rape and two of indecent assault.

The current maximum sentence for rape is 20 years' imprisonment, however the man was sentenced under legislation relevant to the 1970s, when the offending occurred, which carried a maximum of 14 years' imprisonment.