Niamh Lawless
Confidential counselling is being offered to former members of a Whangarei scout troop after a scout leader once awarded a Medal of Merit for 10 years' good service was found guilty of sexually abusing two girls in Nelson.
A jury last week found Glenn Davies, 44, from Whangarei, guilty after a week-long trial in the Nelson District Court. He is in custody awaiting sentencing on February 10.
The offences happened against two sisters in the Nelson area about 15 years ago and are not related to his service in the Scouts. The trial was held in Nelson as that was where the offending occurred.
Upon hearing of the conviction Scouts NZ immediately cancelled Davies' warrant, but yesterday he was still listed as the contact person for the Whangarei Combined Venturers on the Scouts NZ website.
Scouts NZ chief executive Niamh Lawless told the Northern Advocate she was unaware of the charges against Davies until contacted by the media on Friday after he was found guilty.
Ms Lawless said she would have expected that Davies would have upheld his scouting principles of honesty, openness and the well-being of youth and informed the organisation that he was facing such serious charges. Alternatively she said she thought the police would have informed the organisation that one of its scout leaders was being prosecuted.
"It was complete news to me. It's a very serious issue."
She said after hearing of the conviction, and checking its veracity with police, she immediately cancelled Davies' warrant and his details would be removed from the organisation's website.
Davies had not been active in the organisation since the Whangarei Combined Venturers group was closed down 18 months ago because of lack of members and there had been nothing to suggest any problems with his time leading the group, Ms Lawless said.
It was important to note that the offences occurred elsewhere in the country and were not associated with Davies' time in the scouts. However, she said, the Whangarei group had been contacted and confidential counselling had been offered to anybody who needed it or had information that was relevant.
Ms Lawless said nobody had come forward seeking the counselling or with any concerns since the matter was raised on Friday.
She said Scouts NZ had a strict vetting system for anybody wanting to volunteer with the organisation - which included police checks and references being checked - but as Davies had no prior convictions there were no flags raised.
Davies was found guilty of charges of having an unlawful sexual connection with a girl under 12, and indecently assaulting girls under 12 and females aged between 12 and 16.