R v C HC Palmerston North T29/01

[2002] NZHC 1169

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND
PALMERSTON NORTH REGISTRY T29/01

THE QUEEN

v

C

Date: 24 October 2002

Counsel: P Butler for Crown
Y R Summers for Prisoner

Sentence: 24 October 2002 (at Wellington)

SENTENCE OF RONALD YOUNG J

Solicitors:
Crown Solicitor’s Office, Palmerston North, for Crown

[1] Mr C, you are for sentence today on 8 charges of sexually assaulting your children over a number of years and one count of assault.

[2] Firstly as to R, you are convicted on 2 counts of indecent assault both representative charges involving the touching of his penis between 1983 and 1990 and then again from 1998 to 2001. There was a further charge (or count) of indecent assault, again touching R’s penis between 2000 and 2001; and finally the assault on R hitting him on the head with your hand while remonstrating about this case. As to M, between 1988 and 1995 the charge of indecent assault, touching her vagina (a representative charge); between 1988 and 1995 sexual violation, inserting your finger in he penis - I treat that as having a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment; the indecent assault charge, touching her breasts between 1998 and 2000; sexual violation, again asserting your finger into her vagina between 1998 and 2001 (again a representative charge where the maximum penalty is 20 years imprisonment); and then a single incident charge in March 2001 of touching her on the vagina.

[3] It is no exaggeration to say that you regularly sexually assaulted your children over a period of 17 years, and by doing that you robbed them of their innocence and their childhood. R is (and was) the most vulnerable with his intellectual limits. Your sexual assaults on him I can only describe as miserable breaches of trust. These sexual assaults on your own children are of course the complete opposite of what it means to be a parent and what it means to responsibly exercise penalty. In human relations it is difficult to imagine a more basic breach of trust than a parent sexually assaulting their own children. Both of your children of course desperately wanted a father who could love them and treat them with respect. You showed them no respect at all. Regretfully, in common with many others in your situation, you simply do not even now have the decency to acknowledge what you have done and apologise to them. Even now I suspect both children would forgive you if you did so.

[4] For the Crown, they said that the relevant features in this sentencing are that there were two complainants; the length of time over which the offending occurred; seven of the nine counts were representative meaning that they involved multiple sexual assaults; that in count 8 your conviction illustrated you were prepared to use violence towards your son. They stressed both children’s limits, R’s intellectual handicap, and M’s fragility. They stressed the breach of trust and stressed that, particularly for one of the sexual violation charges, a sentence of beyond 4 years was the appropriate sentence.

[5] Ms Summers, on your behalf, said that (broadly) she did not dispute the aggravating features identified by the Crown. She stressed there was no physical injury. The psychological affect on the children seemed to be modest from the Victim Impact Reports - while it clearly affected M she was improving as was R. She said you also had limited intellectual ability and that you did love and support your children in many other ways and that you had been the parent who significantly looked after them. She reminded me of the provision in the pre-sentence report regarding your health and invited me to take into account your age.

[6] I note, according to the pre-sentence report, your age is 52 years. It does not seem to me that you are in such advanced years that any sentence of imprisonment would unfairly or inappropriately fall on you.

[7] I assess the aggravating features as these.

(1) This offending occurred over many years.

(2) The children when it began were very young.

(3) There were two children.

(4) Your son especially had limited intellectual capacity and therefore limited ability to protect himself. It was a gross breach of trust. The indecent assaults and sexual violation occurred again and again over those 17 years and that in my assessment some cumulative sentencing is the proper approach to your sentence.

[8] Balancing all these matters, I assess the proper sentence overall as one of 7 years imprisonment. It is in this way.

[9] On the three sexual assaults against R, counts 1, 2 and 7 you are sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. On count 8 to 3, months imprisonment. On count 9, you are sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. On counts 10 and 13, the sexual violation, 5 years imprisonment. And on the remaining counts, 2 years imprisonment. The 5 year imprisonment for the sexual violation against M will be cumulative on the 2 year sentence for indecent assault on R. The total sentence is 7 years imprisonment.

[10] Stand down.