Parker to face High Court

Former Oturu and Pamapuria Primary School teacher James Robertson Parker was remanded to the High Court in Whangarei for sentence on 74 convictions of sexual offending against boys.

Parker entered guilty pleas to the first tranche of 49 charges late last year, and yesterday admitted another 25 when he appeared before Judge Greg Davis in the Kaitaia District Court. Each of those charges - five of sexual violation, 14 of performing an indecent act and six of indecent assault, 15 of them laid representatively - was read to him.

Counsel Alex Witten-Hannah told the court his client accepted that referral to the High Court for sentence would be appropriate. He also accepted that Parker should be formally given a first warning under the 'three strikes' legislation, although he was adamant that he would never offend again.

Judge Davis said he would decline jurisdiction on the basis he believed a sentence of preventive detention should be considered given the number of offences (against 20 victims), the period of time over which the offences were committed, the trust Parker had strived to gain from the victims, their families and the community, and the degree of grooming he believed was involved.

Parker will appear in the High Court in Whangarei on May 2, for call-over.

Outside the court, Mr Witten-Hannah said the Crown was seeking the harshest possible sentence, preventive detention, for his client. That was akin to locking the cell door and throwing away the key.

"What then would be the penalty for the brutal and violent offender?" he said.

"Remember the old saying in England when sheep stealing was a hanging offence - Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb."

Parliament had resolved that such complex cases as this required the experience and expertise of a High Court judge to undertake sentencing.

A High Court judge could be expected to have the ability to differentiate between a violent offender who used brutality to achieve his ends and an offender such as Parker, who took advantage of trusting boys without any force or intimidation whatsoever.