Man sentenced to 20 years prison, without parole for 9, in Northland child abuse case

The man violently and sexually abused three young children for 15 years. Photo / 123RF

WARNING: This article discusses child sexual and physical abuse.

After a man moved in with his new partner and her three young children, he spent the next 15 years sexually and physically tormenting them – going as far as keeping them from school to carry out his abuse.

Now, he has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the judge finding the man was not entitled to any sentencing discounts.

He must serve a minimum of nine years before he becomes eligible for parole.

A jury found the 56-year-old, who cannot be named to protect the victims, guilty in December 2024 of 48 charges of sexual and violent abuse of the children, which began when one was as young as 5 years old.

This week, he returned to Whangārei District Court for sentencing, during which it was heard that the man met the children’s mother in the 90s when the victims were all aged under 10.

For the next 15 years, they all experienced physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the man, including repeated rapes and beatings, one of which involved a spade.

The victims reported that the man stopped them from going to school and would instead take them to work with him, where he would abuse them.

“A life of darkness, violence, fear and manipulation, this is what my childhood consisted of,” the eldest victim told the court.

She said through her victim impact statement that the man had alienated them from their wider whānau, and denied them a relationship with their father, who adored them.

This caused them a loss of identity, she said.

“This was a direct attack on our mana. You stole that time I can never get back to know my dad.”

When the woman’s children reached the age she had been when the abuse began, it triggered her to begin unravelling the years of manipulation and brainwashing.

“You made me believe I would suffer grave consequences for standing up against you ... You are, in fact, the weak one in all of this.

“You abused the role you had to play as a father figure, and did nothing but inflict torture and pain, something you took great delight in doing to the point you found it humorous to humiliate us.”

All of the victims told the court the man stopped them from having friends, going to school and controlled their every other move to protect himself from the abuse being reported.

“The truth is, you are the only one I ever needed protection from,” the eldest victim said.

They have lived with deep-seated feelings of self-doubt, PTSD, fear, distrust in those in positions of authority, and shame.

However, they now accepted the shame was not theirs to carry.

“Despite these obstacles, I’ve managed to persevere and I’m proud to have built a life for myself,” another victim said.

“The defendant no longer has any power over me or my siblings, and I refuse to let him take any more from us than he already has.

“We will move forward with our lives in the comfort and knowledge that he will no longer be able to do this to anyone else, for a very long time.”

Crown lawyer Geraldine Kelly said the man maintained complete control over the family, and when one victim revealed the abuse as a teen, he manipulated her and her mother into not proceeding with an investigation.

“He used his position of power, coupled with fear of violence, to target these children. He tested the waters with each victim to assess which victim he could groom and manipulate,” Kelly said.

“They’ve had to cope and survive the best way it suits them. It’s only one person’s fault and that is the man sitting in the dock.”

A jury found the man guilty at a trial in December 2024. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Defence lawyer Hugh Leabourn submitted that his client’s offending was not at the higher level, and a starting point of 18 years imprisonment was appropriate.

He accepted there were no mitigating factors but pointed to the pre-sentence report, which assessed the man as a low risk of reoffending.

Leabourn submitted that the length of the man’s sentence would impact his ability to reoffend because of his age on release.

Judge Peter Davey made clear that the children’s mother was also suffering at the hands of the man, and they were all in a powerless situation.

“Your offending had a significant effect on their mother who feels she let them down and is partly to blame but you effectively asserted control over her so you could do what you want with them,” the judge said.

He was critical of the pre-sentence report, which stated the man continued to deny responsibility, and of those who had provided character references in support of the man.

“I’m surprised the pre-sentence report assesses your risk as low ... I don’t place any weight on that risk assessment.

“In regards to the character references, they’re clearly ignorant of what you’ve actually done and I’m not satisfied I can rely on those.”

Judge Davey said there were no mitigating factors in the case and, given the high level of culpability and the significant aggravating circumstances, ruled the man would receive no discount from the starting point.

“I’m satisfied there shouldn’t be any discount for personal factors and so the final sentence will be one of 20 years.”

Judge Davey imposed a minimum period of imprisonment of nine years.

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.