Convicted paedophile James Parker pleads guilty to new charges

James Parker appeared in the Whangārei District Court on new charges of sexual abuse. Photo / NZME

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

A convicted paedophile, 13 years into his sentence for sexually abusing 20 boys, has pleaded guilty to fresh charges against a new victim.

James Robertson Parker was jailed in 2013 indefinitely for 74 charges of abuse against boys aged between 9 and 16 years.

In October 2024, nine new charges were laid against Parker relating to a previously unknown victim.

The new charges relate to indecent and sexual assaults that occurred between 2009 and 2010 in Awanui, around the same time Parker was deputy principal at Pamapūria School, just outside of Kaitāia.

Parker appeared on Monday via audio-visual link in the Whangārei District Court, where guilty pleas were entered to seven of the charges.

Two of the charges will be withdrawn at sentencing.

Parker has been denied parole twice in the past 12 months and his lawyer, Steve Cullen, told the court his parole was dependent on the outcome of the current court case.

Parker’s original offending related to at least 300 acts on young boys while he was teaching at the remote Far North school.

He remains in custody and will be sentenced in June.

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.