Whangārei High Court sentences Clayton Stanley Hunt to life monitoring for child sex abuse

Clayton Stanley Hunt appearing in the Whangarei District Court on a range of child sex abuse charges dating back to the early 2000s. Photo / Shannon Pitman

WARNING: This article discusses sexual violation and may be upsetting to some readers.

He was a trusted figure in an idyllic beachside community, often relied upon by families to provide transport or care for their children.

But away from the watchful eyes of trusting parents, he drugged one girl and lured another to an abandoned house, subjecting them to violent ordeals that would haunt them for years.

Now, Clayton Stanley Hunt’s predatory obsession with young girls has been uncovered, and he has been classified as such a high risk of reoffending that he will be under lifetime monitoring.

With a 30-year history of reports of sexual offending on young children, the 47-year-old has appeared in the Whangārei District Court on a new range of charges dating back to 2002.

In May this year, Hunt was due to be sentenced in the District Court, but the Crown became so concerned, that they requested his file be transferred to the High Court so a term of preventive detention could be considered.

At the High Court in Whangārei on Monday before Justice Laura O’Gorman KC, the court heard why the prosecution was so concerned.

Concerns about Hunt’s behaviour have been steadily flagged in the justice system since 1992, including an incident where Hunt approached a young girl in a park and showed her pornography on his phone.

In 2001 he was convicted of five charges of committing an indecent act on a young person under 12 and then in 2020 was found in possession of several explicit images of children.

The court heard other victims of Hunt have also come forward to police over the years but they were unable to proceed with pressing charges.

At one point, police became so concerned about Hunt being released on bail that they warned 80 Auckland schools that he could be in the area and may approach children.

Hunt’s latest offending before the courts occurred while he was living in Ngunguru, Whangārei and violated three separate young girls over 12 years.

Hunt would offer rides to the girls and initiate games of hide and seek to isolate the victims and then violate them which on some occasions involved rape.

Hunt also drugged a 15-year-old girl with an unknown substance until she became weak and dizzy.

After driving home the girl, who was now vomiting, he placed her in her bed and raped her.

Members of the victims’ families were present at court and became so enraged with hearing the details of what Hunt had done to their loved ones, that a man screamed “You f****** bas****”.

Clayton Stanley Hunt appeared in the High Court at Whangārei on a range of child sex abuse charges dating back to the early 2000s. Photo / NZME

Two victim impact statements were read in court which highlighted the struggles the girls had been through since the offending and the impact it had on their lives.

“I always knew one day it would come out it was just a matter of time,” one said.

“No one believed me when it first came out [and] it was swept under the carpet. He still got to live his life and he went on to offend others.

“If I had known what I know now, I would have put him away a long time ago,” the victim said.

The mother of another victim said Hunt had destroyed her daughter’s teenage years - a time which should have been filled with adventure rather than court proceedings.

“We are asking the court to do everything in its power to save other children from the abuse of that monster,” she requested.

Over the years, Hunt has been ordered to complete three courses to address criminal sexual offending. However, the Crown submitted none had worked and he was a high risk of reoffending.

Justice Laura O'Gorman agreed the public needed to be protected from Hunt. Photo / Stuff

Three expert psychologists also submitted reports that largely agreed, that Hunt posed a significant risk of reoffending in the future.

Justice O’Gorman KC agreed and said Hunt’s offending showed a pattern of abuse inflicted on family members and strangers spanning 30 years.

“I commend the bravery of each victim to come forward seek justice and protect others.

“The depression, anxiety, undermining their self-confidence and enduring years of disgrace, no term of imprisonment will make up for the harm you have done,” she said.

Justice O’Gorman KC sentenced Hunt to preventive detention with a minimum period of imprisonment of seven years.

“The parole board will need to assess whether the risk of sexual offending has diminished with age.”

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.