Paedophile scout master coached kids

A scout leader who sexually abused two young boys was also coach of a children's ice hockey team.

It has emerged Andrew John Pybus, 32, was assistant coach for the Auckland Ice Hockey Association's under-13 team.

Pybus pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court on Friday to ten charges of indecency and sexual violation of boys aged 11-13, including two counts of photographing indecent acts.

Another former scout master - a 48-year-old man who has name suppression - pleaded guilty on six similar counts involving the same victims. A third former scout leader, aged 70, appears this week charged with possessing objectionable material.

Auckland ice hockey president Grant Hay said he was "shocked and scared" at the conviction of Pybus, who had been involved with the club for at least three years.

Pybus was an assistant coach for an AIHA under-13 team and also played for the Vikings Ice Hockey Club. In March he was one of a group of adults who led 17 children on a two-week ice hockey trip to North America. He was suspended six months ago when a parent discovered he was under investigation by the police.

The father of a boy Pybus helped coach told the Herald on Sunday Pybus was a "top guy" and that he'd never had reason to doubt his character.

"It was a complete shock to all of us," he said. "You sort of think, how much were you putting your own children or other people's children at risk?"

The junior team manager said the club had talked to the parents of children they believed might have been at risk and were confident Pybus had not assaulted them.

"There were no opportunities for him to have contact," she said.

The convictions mean 16 cub and scout leaders have now been convicted of indecent acts against minors in the past decade.

Scouting NZ head Geoff Knighton would not provide details of Pybus's involvement with the organisation. Mr Knighton defended Scouting's recruitment practices, saying police and reference checks were done on Pybus when he joined.

The men were removed from their positions as scout masters before the police inquiry began.

Scouting NZ would provide counselling to children, parents and leaders, but would not pay compensation to the victims.

The abuses conducted by Pybus and the 48-year-old happened throughout the Auckland region and rural upper North Island areas over a two-year period.

The prosecutions were the result of a 15-month police investigation sparked by a public tip-off about material stored on a computer. Pybus and the 48-year-old were remanded in custody at Mt Eden prison and will appear for sentencing in the High Court on February 8 next year.

Abuser lived with his parents

Andrew Pybus never left home.

His parents' small home in Manukau was the base for his busy life as a courier driver, hockey coach and scout leader.

At the age of 32, Pybus even shifted with them when they moved from their larger Mt Wellington home. Yesterday, Peter and Carole Pybus did not want to speak of the son neighbours say they adopted.

"They so desperately wanted children," said one neighbour. "He had an adopted sister too but she died in a car crash. He loved fast cars. But he never spoke. He was a recluse."

Pybus' four wheel drive, crammed with outdoor equipment, was parked in the drive, hip-hop CDs spilling out of the glovebox, a sticker proclaiming his love for hockey on the side.

Pybus became involved with the Vikings ice hockey teams about three years ago, having spent five years skating. He was, say members of the Druids, 'one of the guys', going drinking with those who did at a bar near the rink in Botany Downs.

Yesterday, those members spoken to were upset. Jean Stirling, who managed the Vikings, said she was horrified to hear of the conviction. "It was like a kick in the guts when I found out."

- Additional reporting by David Fisher.

- THE HERALD ON SUNDAY