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A Samoan immigrant jailed for indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl has won an appeal to stay in New Zealand - in part to save the victim from the stigma of the assaults in Samoa.
The man indecently assaulted the girl - who was related to him and called
him "uncle" - almost daily over a six-month period in 2004 when he was 22.
He was sentenced to one year and four months' imprisonment and spent five months behind bars before being granted home detention. He has since formed a de facto relationship and has a young child.
The Deportation Review Tribunal considered a letter from the victim's father, which urged the tribunal to allow the man to stay in New Zealand out of fear for his daughter's wellbeing.
The girl, whose Samoan family live in the same village as the offender's, would be the focus of "vicious gossip" if the offender was to return to Samoa - where the close communal circumstances would mean it would be just a short time before the reason for his deportation was known.
As a result the young girl, who frequently returns to visit her parents, would be seen by young men as "promiscuous and available", which would put her security at risk.
The victim's grandmother told the tribunal: "Societal gossip will blame the girl, however wrong that might be."
The tribunal's report said it would "normally treat with a great deal of caution any attempt ... to invoke the welfare of a victim as grounds for the quashing of a deportation order".
However, "these are exceptional circumstances ... We are satisfied that it is appropriate to give weight to the need to minimise the risk of further harm to [the victim] and to safeguard her wellbeing".
The fact that the offender is now a father also played a part in the deportation order being overturned, with his young family unable to go with him to Samoa. The tribunal also said the risk of reoffending was low.
Victim Support deputy chief executive Heather Verry said the organisation applauded the decision not to deport the offender.
"Our whole purpose is that the victim is protected and has a healthy wellbeing. If he goes back, that child will face ridicule. She's victimised all over again."
Rape Prevention Education director Dr Kim McGregor said the small communal situation would bring no good if the victim were to return to the village if the offender was there.
