Stepfather jailed for more than 10 years for historic sexual abuse

Amber Waghorn endured six years of sexual abuse when she was a young girl. Photo / Stock Image 123RF

Warning: this article discusses sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers.

Amber Waghorn’s early years were destroyed by the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather. She felt like a toy for men to play with and was shunned by her mother who was jealous of her for monopolising the man’s “love”.

But Waghorn has now reclaimed her power after successfully arguing to have her name suppression lifted so she can tell her story.

Her abuser, William George Taylor, 64, heard her speak of her “harrowing” tale on Wednesday, shortly before he was jailed for “taking the innocence” from the now 42-year-old.

She was only 6 when the abuse began. It only stopped when she was removed from the family home at age 12, she told Christchurch District Court.

As a little girl while on her way to school, Waghorn would remove her underwear and hide it in the bushes or rubbish bins as it was often covered with blood or semen.

She was bullied by other children for not wearing underwear. The parents of those children would then complain to Waghorn’s mother about her lack of undergarments, resulting in further violence and sexual assault on her as punishment.

Waghorn said her mother began to turn a blind eye to the abuse, becoming “resentful and jealous” that she had stolen Taylor’s “love and attention”.

Her abuser, William George Taylor, was jailed this week when he appeared in Christchurch District Court. Photo / George Heard

A breakdown in the mother-daughter relationship later occurred as the mother refused to talk with Waghorn about the abuse until before her recent death.

“You took away my opportunity to experience a mother’s love for someone so desperately in need of it,” Waghorn told Taylor in court.

She recalled an occasion in a supermarket where she was made to fondle Taylor’s genitals while he stood talking to someone and said she still deeply cringes when thinking back to this.

When she was 12, she was removed from her home and put into state care where she was “passed around” and subjected to further sexual abuse.

“I was shunned and cut off from my family forever ... he [Taylor] made me feel like a toy for men to be used and disregarded.”

Waghorn was the oldest of four siblings and made it her life mission to protect them, even if it meant taking extra punishment from Taylor.

Waghorn said the sexual abuse followed her into her adult relationships and affected her ability to be a mother.

She became fixated on keeping her daughter safe, never allowing her to leave home.

Waghorn suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, self-harm and eating disorders. She struggled to answer the phone or to leave her house. She believed she would be on medication for the rest of her life.

For three months she lost her ability to speak and went through months of speech therapy to regain her voice. In stressful situations her muteness returns, causing her to feel silenced again.

Although going through the five-year court process has been hard for Waghorn, she said it needed to be done to help her heal.

“I needed to hold Billy [Taylor] to account to prevent anyone else from experiencing that ... I want to get some peace.”

Taylor was charged with six counts of rape, three of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and five of indecent assault. All charges are representative, meaning they happened more than once.

According to the summary of facts, Taylor would stay up watching TV until the rest of the family went to bed.

Once all the lights were out he would go into Waghorn’s room and bring her into the lounge and make her watch pornographic material.

He would then force Waghorn to perform oral sex on him before raping her. If someone woke during the abuse, he would hide her down the side of the couch until they left.

Most days Waghorn would be in trouble with Taylor and as punishment he would take her to the shed, lock the door and shut the curtains before raping her.

Afterward, he would send her off to play in the paddock with her brothers, warning: “don’t f***ing tell anyone. Don’t tell your mother. Keep your mouth shut.”

Taylor would also go into Waghorn’s room at night and sexually violate her. She began sleeping under her bed to make it difficult for him to access her.

But Taylor would “drag” her out by whatever limb he could find in order to commit his deviant acts.

He would make Waghorn perform oral sex on him while she was alone in the bath and again while out collecting firewood.

On a trip to Dunedin, he pulled the car over and raped Waghorn. She said this happened more than once on the trip.

Crown Prosecutor Jade Lancaster said there wasn’t much more she could add to Waghorn’s “powerful” victim impact statement and pushed for a starting point of at least 17 years’ imprisonment.

She said the offending was incredibly serious and Taylor has shown no remorse for his actions. He also had a previous conviction for sexual offending for which he had spent time in prison.

Taylor’s lawyer said just because his client was not expressing remorse it did not mean he was not remorseful.

He now suffers ongoing health issues, such as problems with his heart and diabetes, which would likely shorten his life.

Judge Mark Callaghan said Taylor’s “harrowing” abuse against Waghorn was for his own personal gratification and has had “devastating” effects on her.

“You have shown little remorse as far as I can see for your actions and you’re more concerned for your own wellbeing and your partner than that of your victim,” the judge said.

He gave Taylor discounts for his guilty plea, his age and his ill health, arriving at an end sentence of 10 years and four months’ imprisonment.

Taylor will have to serve at least five years before he can apply for parole, marking the severity of the offending.

Judge Callaghan granted Waghorn a protection order against Taylor and lifted her automatic name suppression at her request so she could share her story.

Waghorn became emotional as the judge made his final orders and Taylor was taken away to begin his sentence.

“Thank you, thank you,” she said to the judge between tears.