A former mayor has been identified as the man convicted of having sex with a 17-year-old Swiss exchange student living in his Levin home.
Former Horowhenua mayor Tom Robinson, 68, pleaded guilty in Levin District Court this week to having sex with a person under the age of20 and under his care.
The law has since been changed to under the age of 18.
He was refused name suppression.
Robinson was ordered to pay $15,000 to the victim and sentenced to 300 hours of community service, the Dominion Post reported.
"I should not have done it. I did, it happened and I regret it deeply," he said.
"My wife supports me totally. It has turned my whole life over."
Police said the offending took place from May 1989 until January 1990 while the victim was living with Robinson and his family.
Robinson resigned as a JP and regional councillor in July.
