Herald NOW: Daily News Update: June 4 2025.
Video / NZ Herald
An Auckland man who groped three young girls on separate occasions has been sentenced to prison after an unsuccessful request for home detention.
Darryl John Wedgwood, 64, hung his head in the Auckland District Court dock last week as victim impact statements from each of the girls were readaloud.
“I want him to go to jail,” wrote a now-14-year-old, who believes she was 7 or 8 when the defendant slipped into the room of a Torbay home where she was sleeping with other children and touched her.
Wedgwood had been visiting an adult at the North Shore residence.
“I think he definitely needs help,” continued the statement, which was read aloud by a support volunteer as the child sat quietly next to her. “It wasn’t okay.
Auckland resident Darryl Wedgwood, 64, was sentenced in Auckland District Court for indecently assaulting three young girls on separate occasions. Photo / Supplied
Court documents state Wedgwood victimised the first girl, then about 5, in 2018 while at a playground. He had ingratiated himself with the child’s parents enough that they trusted him to take her with him on what was supposed to be a dog walk.
The other two victims were targeted some time the following year as they slept.
All three girls said they were relieved they didn’t have to give evidence at trial, thanks to Wedgwood’s guilty pleas to three counts of indecently assaulting a child under 12. He faced up to 10 years’ imprisonment for the charges.
However, all three also reported long-term anxiety and distrust of adults because of what he did.
“He changed my life so much,” wrote the second girl who was touched in a bedroom. “I now have anxiety because I hated what he did to me.
“I hate that he took all my confidence away... I want him to do his time so I can move on.”
Auckland resident Darryl Wedgwood, 64, was sentenced in Auckland District Court for indecently assaulting three young girls on separate occassions. Photo / Supplied
Defence lawyer John Hickey said his client didn’t understand the gravity of what he had done until recently, when he read the victim impact statements ahead of the sentencing hearing. The defendant blamed alcohol and cannabis use, which he said impaired his ability to recognise social boundaries.
His lawyer pointed out the offences weren’t among the most serious cases of indecency with a child. They appeared to be spontaneous without a period of grooming, there was only one incident with each victim and there were no threats in an attempt to silence the children, he said.
On home detention, Hickey added, Wedgwood would be more likely to get treatment.
Auckland resident Darryl Wedgwood, 64, was sentenced in Auckland District Court for indecently assaulting three young girls on separate occasions. Photo / Supplied
But Judge Ema Aitken pointed out that Wedgwood wouldn’t be a good candidate for treatment if he continued to claim the offences were not about sexual arousal – instead blaming the “general milieu” of intoxication.
Many child sex offender rehabilitation programmes require an applicant to admit they have a problem.
The judge also pointed out that, in a concerning interview prior to sentencing, Wedgwood denied all offending and suggested he pleaded guilty only due to the anxiety a trial would cause.
“You suggested the victims have been coached or made up their evidence,” the judge noted, adding that the defendant’s story has now changed again – he accepts he did it.
Crown prosecutor Kasey Nihill sought a term of imprisonment, noting the vulnerability of each girl Wedgwood victimised and the significant, lasting impact his actions had on them. The judge, quoting from each of the girls’ statements, agreed the impacts were huge.
Judge Aitken set a starting point of two years and nine months, allowing reductions of 25% for his guilty pleas, 5% for remorse and another 5% for how much more difficult prison will be for a man of his age and “emotional fragility”.
She noted that in letters written to each of the girls, Wedgwood described his actions as “unforgivable”.
The judge declined to uplift the sentence due to a 2003 conviction for indecency with an adult woman. The court had no details of the case but noted that the only sentence was a $200 reparation payment to the victim.
The end sentence, with discounts factored in, was 21 months – below the two-year threshold at which judges can consider imposing an alternative, non-custodial sentence. However, Judge Aitken declined to do so.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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