Gary Wilson was sentenced in the Whangārei District Court.
WARNING: This article discusses sexual abuse and may be upsetting to some readers.
A paedophile preyed on a “somewhat dysfunctional family”, waiting until they were distracted by drinking before isolating their young son and abusing him.
That victim, the third of Gary Claude Wilson’s to now come forward, was left carrying decades of pain.
The 75-year-old was found guilty at a jury trial in December of 33 historical sexual abuse charges against the boy, who was under the age of 10 at the time.
Wilson knew the boy’s parents and would offer to take him out while they held parties at their Whangārei home.
He offered him money, cigarettes and alcohol in exchange for sexual favours and his silence.
Wilson abused the boy for several years on hundreds of occasions.
Twenty years later, the victim came forward. During that time, Wilson had already been convicted twice of sexually abusing two other boys, all unknown to each other.
At his trial, Wilson gave evidence that he did not take the victim in his car and claimed he had forgotten he had signed a statement when he was taken in for questioning, agreeing that he had taken the victim in his car.
The officer who took the statement gave evidence that Wilson was coherent and understood what he was signing.
Wilson also claimed that he could not remember being convicted and sentenced in the two previous cases.
At the current sentencing, a victim impact statement was read on behalf of the victim, who detailed how he struggled with flashbacks of the abuse after he came forward.
“How fast the memories rush in, like watching a movie flashing of my life,” he said.
The man said that although his parents had issues, they were good people whom Wilson took advantage of.
“You, Gary Wilson, looked at my mum and thought she was just a drunk and my father was too nice a man. You saw an opportunity to be the person you are.
“Asking me to go for what you call an innocent ride to the bottle store pretending it was my own wellbeing, pretending you were helping me escape the drunk ones at home.”
The victim acknowledged Wilson’s whānau, particularly his daughter, whom he knew, and said she was a good person.
“As for you, f*** your feelings. All you cared about was your sick, sexually twisted motives.”
His partner also read a statement outlining the ongoing impact on their relationship, saying he still could not share a bed or cope with being touched.
Crown lawyer Pablo Hamber said it underscored that the breadth of Wilson’s harm extended beyond just the victim.
“Things that are normal, like sleeping next to your partner, all of that is because of what his offending has done.”
Hamber also noted Wilson was 49 when the offending occurred, which was roughly the same time he had been offending against other boys.
Wilson’s lawyer, Chris Muston, said when he read his client the victim’s impact statement prior to the hearing, “he broke down”.
“He has respect for what he said,” Muston said.
Judge John McDonald acknowledged the struggles the victim had been through and hoped he was now able to heal after bravely speaking up.
“You are the reason for all his pain and all his suffering,” Judge McDonald told Wilson.
The judge said Wilson targeted the boy’s “somewhat dysfunctional family” to get to the boy.
“You are the type of paedophile who can hone in on such boys who can be exploited,” he said.
“It is wrong to sexually abuse a child in this way and it is against the law.”
Judge McDonald sentenced Wilson to 13-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.
He will be required to go before the Parole Board for release.
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.