Serial child sex offender jailed for raping boy 24 years ago

Serial child sex offender Glyn Tatham, now aged 48, is behind bars again, this time for offending 24 years ago. Photo / Supplied

Warning: Distressing content

A serial child sex offender already behind bars for abusing young boys has been jailed for a further three years and six months for raping a young boy 24 years ago.

Glyn Tatham fought to keep his name secret but Justice Graham Lang lifted suppression when he sentenced him on April 16 in the High Court at Rotorua.

Sentencing notes from Justice Lang have just been released to the Rotorua Daily Post.

The notes showed Tatham, 48, started abusing boys nearly 30 years ago and the latest sentence was his third prison term for such offending.

In March this year, Tatham was found guilty by a Rotorua jury of a charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and two charges of indecently assaulting a boy.

All the offences were against a boy aged between 12 and 16 and occurred in 1997. The victim came forward to police in 2019.

The indecent assaults happened when the boy would visit Tatham's house.

Tatham gained the boy's trust.

The boy was staying overnight at Tatham's house and awoke to find Tatham pulling his pants down. Tatham then indecently assaulted the boy while the boy pretended to be asleep. He brought the offending to an end by turning over in his bed.

Two weeks later the boy was again staying overnight at Tatham's house.

The Rotorua Courthouse. Photo / File

The boy woke to find Tatham pulling his pants down. Tatham then indecently assaulted him. The boy froze and pretended to be asleep. The indecent assault was with such force, it caused the boy pain and he rolled on to his stomach. Tatham then raped the boy.

It was Tatham's defence at the trial that he had no memory of the events and that he wouldn't have intentionally engaged in intercourse.

Tatham was jailed for eight years in 2014 for further offending against several young boys between 2006 and 2013.

That offending came to light when his then partner viewed contents on a memory card containing objectionable material. She contacted police and Tatham admitted his offending and that he had done wrong. He said at that time he needed help.

His first offending came to light when he was jailed for three years after offending against three young men in 1992 and 1993. He was jailed for those offences in 1995.

The judge said the present offending he was being sentenced for must have occurred a short time after he was released from prison in 1997 and he, therefore, did not learn from his sentence.

Justice Lang said he had to fix an appropriate sentence for the present charges by considering all the offending in its totality to determine the sentence that would have been imposed had he been sentenced in 2014 on all charges at the same time.

Justice Lang noted there were several aggravating factors, including the boy's age.

"Your house was a place of refuge for him and you breached the trust he showed in you by offending against him on two occasions."

Judice Lang said there was an element of grooming and premeditation because he provided the boy with rewards, making his house an attractive proposition for the victim.

"It was plainly evident at trial and is again reflected in the victim impact statement that your offending had a devastating effect on the victim. It has affected him deeply in many different ways over the last 24 years. You need to understand that he believes that you have effectively ruined his life."

Justice Lang also noted Tatham remains "untreated" because in 2017 he was removed from a treatment programme in prison because of "inappropriate behaviour towards younger attendees of that programme".

Justice Lang said Tatham had said his offending had been driven by a desire to recreate the positive feelings he experienced at the age of 12 or 13 when he engaged in sexual activity with another boy of the same age.

Where to get help:

• If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

• If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334.

• Alternatively contact your local police station

• If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.