R v SRH

[2019] NZHC 2893

ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF NAME, ADDRESS,

OCCUPATION OR IDENTIFYING PARTICULARS OF DEFENDANT PURSUANT TO S 200 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2011. SEE

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WHANGAREI REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA WHANGĀREI-TERENGA-PARĀOA ROHE

CRI-2018-029-1118

[2019] NZHC 2893

THE QUEEN

v

SRH

Hearing:

6 November 2019

Appearances:

M B Smith for Crown

A M Dooney for Defendant

Judgment:

6 November 2019

SENTENCING REMARKS OF LANG J

R v SRH [2019] NZHC 2893 [6 November 2019]

[1]    Mr H, you appear for sentence today having pleaded guilty to 49 charges alleging sexual offending against more than 11 separate victims. The charges to which you have pleaded guilty are:

(a)1 representative charge of sexual violation by rape;1

(b)6 charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection;2

(c)10 charges, including two representative charges, of committing indecencies on a young person under 16;3

(d)8 charges of making an intimate visual recording;4

(e)13 charges, including 4 representative charges, of doing an indecent act on a child under 12 years of age;5

(f)1 representative charge of committing an indecent act in a public place;6

(g)10 charges, including 8 representative charges, of indecently assaulting a child under 12 years of age.7

[2]    The maximum penalty for the two charges of sexual violation is 20 years imprisonment. The maximum penalties on the remaining charges range from two to 14 years imprisonment.

[3]    I am required to sentence you on the basis of a summary of facts with which you agree. This sets out the offending against individual victims in some detail. It runs to some 29 pages and for that reason I will not be referring in detail to the offending against each victim. However, I hope that the summary I give will provide an indication of the nature and scale of your offending.

1      Crimes Act 1961, ss 128 and 128B. Maximum penalty 20 years imprisonment.

2      Crimes Act 1961, ss 128 and 128B. Maximum penalty 20 years imprisonment.

3      Crimes Act 1961, s 134(3). Maximum penalty 10 years imprisonment.

4      Crimes Act 1961, s 216H. Maximum penalty 3 years imprisonment.

5      Crimes Act 1961, s 132. Maximum penalty 14 years imprisonment.

6      Crimes Act 1961, s 125. Maximum penalty 2 years imprisonment.

7      Crimes Act 1961, s 133(1)(a). Maximum penalty 10 years imprisonment.

Factual background

Offending against L

[4]    I begin, because it is the oldest in time, with the offending against L, who is your 31 year old niece. You face two charges, including one representative charge, of indecent assault on a child under 12 years of age in relation to this offending, which occurred between October 1994 and December 1996 when L was aged between 7 and 11 years.

[5]    You would play with L when she came over to your house and would use the opportunity to touch L’s buttocks and vagina over her swimsuit. On one occasion when she was sitting on your lap you lifted her up and down on your erect penis. Her back made direct contact with your penis as you rubbed her against you.

Offending against J

[6]    The next victim, although not the next in time, is your daughter, J. You are charged with four charges of indecent assault (one representative) and one charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection in relation to J. This offending took place over a seven month period between February and August 2018, when she was 14 to 15 years of age.

[7]    The indecent assaults involved you entering J’s room while she slept, pulling back her blankets and top, and touching her breasts. On one occasion you masturbated whilst touching her breasts until you ejaculated and, on another occasion, you used J’s hand to masturbate yourself.

[8]    The sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection involved you pulling down J’s pants and underwear to reveal her vagina, lubricating your fingers with saliva, and rubbing the outer area of her vagina to stimulate her clitoris. You stopped when J awoke. And after that J set her alarm early to wake up before you, which stopped any further offending. J also records other incidents in which she saw you enter her bedroom, but you then left the room without doing anything because you saw she was awake.

Offending against T

[9]    The next victim is T, a friend of your daughter. You are charged with making an intimate visual recording and committing an indecency on a child under 12 years of age in relation to T. The offending against her took place on 9 November 2011, when she was 11 years of age and staying over at your address.

[10]   You entered the room where T was sleeping, removed her blankets and underpants, and filmed her vagina using your cell phone. You kept this film and would view it and masturbate as you watched it.

Offending against A

[11]   The next victim, A, is a 15 year old friend of your daughter. She has Downs Syndrome and currently has the mental age of an 11 year old. The offending against A occurred between 1 October 2016 and 3 November 2018 whilst A was aged between 12 and 13 years of age. All of the offending occurred at your house.

[12]You face the following charges in relation to A:

(a)First, one charge of making an intimate visual recording: you entered the room whilst A was showering and filmed her as she left the shower naked and was drying herself with a towel. You kept the film and again would masturbate when you viewed it.

(b)Secondly, one charge and one representative charge of committing indecencies on a young person under 16 years of age: you felt A’s breasts on one occasion, and on many occasions would arrange to be alone with her. You would then kiss her and feel her breasts, and often masturbate until the point of ejaculation whilst doing so.

(c)Thirdly, one representative charge of sexual violation by rape: on several occasions after indecently assaulting A, you would remove her pants and underwear and push your penis between the lips of her labia. She would tell you to stop but you would continue to the point of

ejaculation, often after you had masturbated yourself. On one occasion A was on top of you with your penis separating her labia as she rubbed up and down on you.

(d)Fourthly, two representative charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection: you performed oral sex on A on many occasions, and on some of those occasions you would also digitally penetrate her by putting two of your fingers inside her vagina.

Offending against Z

[13]   The next victim is your younger daughter, Z. This offending occurred between October 2015 and October 2017 whilst she was between 9 and 11 years of age. The offending occurred at your home, and you face four charges of indecent assault of a person under the age of 12 years as a result.

[14]   The representative charge that you face involved you deliberately touching Z’s breasts whilst playing with and tickling her.

[15]   You also on one occasion rolled up Z’s top and sucked on her nipples, before carrying her to her room, removing her pants and underwear, and rubbing your penis back and forth on the lips of her labia. You then used Z’s hand to masturbate yourself.

Offending against S

[16]   The next victim, S, is a friend of your daughter, who frequently stayed over at your house. The offending involved making an intimate visual recording on 5 June 2015. This occurred when the victim was 15 years of age.

[17]   You knew S was going to have a shower and you set your phone up to record her doing so through a hole in the wall. Your phone fell down as she was undressing, but recorded S undressing to her underwear. You kept this film and again you would view it whilst masturbating.

Offending against H

[18]   The next victim is your wife, H, who is 48 years of age. On three occasions between December 2011 and February 2012 you made an intimate visual recording of her, twice while she was having a shower and once as she was sleeping in bed. You also indecently assaulted her on the latter occasion by removing her underwear and making a video recording of her vagina as she lay sleeping.

Unknown victims

[19]   You also face a charge of committing an indecent act in a public place. This is a representative charge, meaning that the offending occurred on numerous different occasions but it is impossible to isolate individual occasions. This charge relates to offending that occurred between 1989 and 1999, when you would drive in your vehicle around New Lynn where you were working at the time. You were looking for school girls of any age. When you encountered them, you would park in front of them and masturbate in your vehicle with your pants down as they walked past. The summary records that this happened two to three times a week for a period of about ten years.

Offending against K

[20]   The next victim is K, who was a friend of your daughter. The offending against her took place between 2002 and 2011 when she was between the ages of 3 and 12. She would stay at your address frequently and you would offend regularly against her. You face the following charges in relation to K:

(a)Three representative charges of indecent assault and three representative charges of indecency with a child under 12 years of age: you would stand in front of K when she was staying at your house and would expose your penis and masturbate in front of her. On other occasions you would use acts of playing and tickling as an opportunity to touch K’s vagina and buttocks over the top of her clothes. You would also often hold her on your lap and attempt to pull her hand towards your penis to have her rub it.

(b)You also face a charge of doing an indecent act on a girl under 12 years of age: when K was 9 or 10 years of age you picked her up to go camping, but instead drove to your house. You went into the house and then came out naked, masturbating as you walked towards the vehicle. You then told K to show you her vagina and said you would not be going anywhere until she did so. She was terrified and begged you not to make her do it, but you persisted with your demands. Eventually, she pulled down her clothes quickly to expose her vagina before putting her clothing back on.

(c)Thirdly, you face a representative charge of indecent assault of a girl under 12 years of age: when K was 9 or 10 years of age she would go to a lake with you and your family. You would take the opportunity to swim with the children in the lake. You would launch your daughters and K into the air from the water. When it was K’s turn you would wait until the other children got out of the way. You would use that time to expose your penis underwater to K and to use her hand to rub your penis.

(d)You face another charge of doing an indecent act on a girl under 12 years of age. This was laid as a result of the fact that you showed K pornography of adult women performing oral sex on a man. You suggested to K that she could do that for you.

(e)You face another charge of doing an indecent act on a girl under 12 years of age. On this occasion you swung K up and over a video camera which was recording. Whilst she was in the air you paused for several minutes holding her over the camera so as to film her buttocks.

(f)Finally, you face three charges (one representative) of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection with a female under 12 years of age: you performed oral sex on K on several times, ignoring the fact that she was demonstrating her resistance by struggling against you. You would

masturbate whilst performing oral sex on K, and on several occasions you also digitally penetrated K’s vagina with your fingers.

Offending against SL

[21]   SL was a friend of your daughter and just 4 years of age at the time of the offending against her. This occurred between August 2001 and August 2002. You face a charge of sexual conduct with a child under 12 years of age for this offending. This involved having SL sitting on top of you, causing you to get an erection. You then got up and went to the bathroom. SL followed you and saw you masturbating at the bathroom sink.

Offending against JT

[22]   JT was best friends with your eldest daughter and often stayed at your house. You face three charges of indecent assault on a girl in relation to JT for this offending, which occurred between July 2006 and July 2007. Two of these charges were laid as a result of incidents that occurred whilst she was 8 years old. The first involved you blocking the door to the bathroom as JT was washing her hands. You then pulled your penis out of your shorts, forcing her to squeeze past you to get out. The second charge involved you carrying JT upstairs, holding her down on a bed and rubbing your penis on the outside of her clothing. She was eventually able to escape and run back downstairs. The third charge was laid as a result of an incident that occurred when JT was 13. Whilst she was having dinner with your family, you took the opportunity to reach under the dinner table and grip her thigh.

Offending against B

[23]   The final charge relates to offending against B. B was a neighbour and family friend. She was friends with your eldest daughter. You face one charge of sexual conduct with a child under 12 years of age in relation to B. This relates to offending that occurred on or about 23 February 2010 when she was 10 years of age. On this occasion you met B whilst she was walking downstairs during the night, and hugged her around the waist. You then used one hand to feel her buttocks. You later went to your daughter’s bedroom, where both B and your daughter were together. You told

them it was hot and that they should take their tops off. B was shocked by this and ran downstairs, where she got her parents to take her home.

Victim impact statements

[24]   Mr H that is a lengthy summary of facts and it probably does not do justice to the full extent of your offending. The offending has had extremely significant effects for your victims. I have now read many victim impact statements and they make harrowing reading. You have wreaked havoc on the lives of your victims, most of whom were of a young age when your offending occurred. It is likely that your offending will have lifelong effects on many of your victims. It is clear that all of them are having very significant issues as a result of what you did to them.

[25]   In addition, and as you recognise in a letter written to me today, you have torn your family apart by the crimes that you have committed not only against your wife but also against two of your daughters. Incidents like that mean that the family will struggle to survive as a unit in the future.

Sentencing options

[26]   The real issue I need to determine today is whether to impose a finite sentence of imprisonment. This means a sentence of imprisonment of a prescribed number of years, and perhaps with a minimum term you must serve before being eligible to apply for parole. The alternative, and the sentence the Crown urges on me, is the indeterminate sentence of preventive detention. This is a sentence that has no end date. It would be for the prison authorities to determine when you should be released. They would only do that when they were satisfied you no longer posed a threat to female members of our community.

Finite sentences

[27]   In order to determine that issue, however, I need to first determine what the finite sentence would be if I were to impose one. Your offending obviously has numerous aggravating features. The first, and most obvious, is the sheer scale of the offending and the number of victims it involves. The second is the variety of the

offending. You have done everything from touching to filming, to digital penetration, to oral sex through to full penile penetration.

[28]   The next aggravating factor is that virtually all of your offending involved a gross breach of trust. The most obvious example of this comes in the form of the crimes you committed against your wife and two daughters. The remaining victims, however, were friends of your family. Their parents trusted their children to be in your care. You took them into your home where they had every right to feel safe. Instead, you violated their trust in the ways I have described. The breach of trust that occurred in this case is of extremely significant proportions.

[29]   The next factor is that virtually all of your victims were vulnerable. They were vulnerable in two ways. First, by virtue of their young age and second, by virtue of the fact that they were children and you were an adult and as such in a position of authority within the house. They, not surprisingly, felt unable to complain about what you had done because they were completely vulnerable to your advances.

[30]   The next aggravating factor is that much of your offending involved premeditation. Examples of this come from the incidents in which you took victims to either your house or other locations where you could molest them undisturbed. The filming of your victims involved equipping yourself with a cellphone and then using that to for your gratification later. So premeditation is also a factor that needs to be taken into account here.

[31]The final aggravating factor is the harm that you have caused to the victims.

[32]   The guideline decision of the Court of Appeal for offending of this type is a case called R v AM.8 In that case the Court of Appeal identified bands of offending for which it suggested starting points. This judgment provides a general guide only, but counsel agree that your offending falls within Band 3 identified in R v AM. That band calls for a starting point of between nine and 18 years imprisonment.9 The examples given in AM and, in particular, a case called Grinder,10 make it clear that

8      R v AM [2010] NZCA 114, [2010] 2 NZLR 750.

9 At [113].

10     R v Grinder CA78/03, 26 August 2003.

your offending falls at the very top of this band. I have in fact reached the conclusion that your offending falls slightly outside of the band. I consider that, viewed overall, and taking into account all of the aggravating factors I have identified, an overall starting point of 20 years imprisonment would be appropriate if a finite sentence was to be imposed.

[33]   You have no relevant previous convictions, so there would be no need to increase the starting point to reflect aggravating factors personal to you. I accept, however, you would be entitled to a full discount to reflect your guilty pleas. Some of these were not entered at a particularly early stage, but the significant feature about them is that they meant your victims did not have to come to Court to relive what happened to them several years ago. This has spared them the obvious trauma inherent in any case where victims of sexual offending are required to give evidence before a courtroom full of strangers. The guilty pleas also reflect the fact that you have taken responsibility for your offending. Having regard to those factors, I would apply a discount of 25 per cent to reflect your guilty pleas. This means that an end finite sentence of 15 years would be appropriate if that was to be imposed. I deal with the issue of minimum term of imprisonment later in these remarks.

Preventive detention

[34]   As I have said, the real issue in the present case is whether I should impose the indeterminate sentence of preventive detention. That sentence may be imposed where the Court is satisfied that the defendant is likely to commit another qualifying or violent offence upon release after serving any sentence the Court might impose.

[35]   In deciding whether or not to impose a sentence of preventive detention, the Court is required to take into account five factors set out in s 87(4) of the Sentencing Act 2002. Having considered those factors, the Court must stand back and determine the manner in which it should exercise its discretion, either in favour of a finite sentence of imprisonment or the sentence of preventive detention. The underlying concern the Court is required to address is whether the defendant is likely to remain an ongoing risk to the safety of the community that can only be met by the imposition of a sentence of preventive detention.

[36]   The sentence is not, however, a sentence of last resort. It is not a sentence that can only be imposed after other sentencing options have been tried without success. That is important in your case because this is the first occasion on which you have appeared before the courts on charges involving sexual misconduct.

[37]The issues I am required to take into account are as follows:

(a)Any pattern of serious offending disclosed by the offender’s history;

(b)The seriousness of the harm to the community caused by the offending;

(c)Information indicating a tendency to commit serious offences in the future;

(d)The absence of, or failure, of efforts by the offender to address the cause or causes of the offending; and

(e)The principle that a lengthy finite sentence is preferable if this provides adequate protection for the community.

(a)Any pattern of serious offending disclosed by the offender’s history

[38]   The answer to this question is obvious. You have offended in one way or other on a virtually continuous basis starting in 1994 and finishing in 2018. Your offending has involved a pattern of sexual misconduct against young girls who are either members of your household or guests within your home. It also extends to sexual misconduct against your wife.

[39]   The pattern is further exemplified by the fact that you take opportunities whenever you can to touch young girls in your company. This has led on several occasions not only to digital penetration but also oral sex and full sexual intercourse. There can be no doubt whatsoever that you have established a pattern of serious sexual offending.

(b)The seriousness of the harm to the community caused by the offending

[40]   This factor is again obvious. The victim impact statements alone make it clear the harm this offending has done to the immediate victims of your offending. However, as the victim impact report that was read out this morning demonstrates, the harm caused by offending such as this spreads well beyond the immediate victim. First, it extends to the victim’s family because the family feels they have let the victim down by allowing her to come into your orbit. It goes further than that. It means that the victims and those in whom they confide cannot trust people in the future. Their parents and caregivers cannot trust others in the community to look after children. Offending such as this strikes at the very heart of the community because it destroys the fabric of trust that we rely on when we allow our children to be cared for by other persons. So the harm that it causes is widespread and incalculable.

(c)Information indicating a tendency to commit serious offences in the future

[41]   The next is information indicating a tendency to commit serious offences in the future.

[42]   In considering this issue I have the benefit of three reports, two prepared by psychologists and one by a psychiatrist. Two of the reports were ordered by the Court to assist it in determining whether it should impose a sentence of preventive detention. The third report was obtained by your counsel.

[43]   All of the health assessors have studied material relevant to your case and they have interviewed you at some length. As I read the reports, none can identify with any accuracy the precise reason why you began to offend in this way and why your offending escalated to such a degree and over such a lengthy period. I do not consider this to be surprising, because the causes of your offending are likely to be deep-seated and multi-layered.

Dr Jacques

[44]   The psychiatrist, Dr Jacques, used instruments known as SVR-20 and RSVP to assess the likelihood of future sexual offending. He found that these highlighted

several risk factors for future offending of this type. These included your sexual deviance, your relationship problems, your high density sex offending and sex offending of multiple types and diversity. Having said that, Dr Jacques notes that you also have some protective factors because you appear to accept responsibility and harbour guilt and distress following the offences. You also have some support in the community, and he considers you understand that several factors will be required to reduce your risk of reoffending. These include monitoring and supervision, treatment, support and interventions.

[45]   Dr Jacques considers you are at moderate risk of similar sexual offending in the future. He says there are factors that support a sentence of preventive detention and also that indicate such a sentence may not be required. He bases the latter observation on the fact that you have accepted responsibility for your offending and are willing to engage in treatment. Furthermore, you have never received help or treatment for the causes of your offending, and there are several important risk factors that that you do not possess. Finally, despite the high number of offences for which you appear for sentence today, this is the first time you have appeared before the courts for sexual offending.

Mr Sharma

[46]   Mr Sharma, a Senior Clinical Psychologist, also used the SVR-20 instrument as well as the Stable 2007 Actuarial Instrument. Accounting for dynamic risk assessment measures and observable clinical factors, Mr Sharma considers you are at moderate to high risk of sexual offending in a similar manner following your release into the community. He says you are most likely to re-offend if you have access to pubescent and pre-pubescent girls. However, he notes that you also have mitigating and protective factors available to you. These include your pro-social upbringing and ongoing pro-social rapport with members of your family. You also show a high level of motivation to understand your sexual offending and to seek treatment. He says that, without intensive treatment, your dynamic risk factors mean you would be at high risk of reoffending. A key protective factor, however, would include your likely age at the time of release after serving a lengthy prison sentence. He concludes with the following observation:

Although the length and type of sentence is the Court’s decision, it would appear that the community would be sufficiently protected by a lengthy prison sentence which would also allow him to undertake intensive treatment. If necessary an extended supervision order could be imposed on him upon his release.

Mr Shelton

[47]   Mr Shelton is a Clinical Psychologist engaged by your counsel to assist the Court in determining the sentence it must impose today. Mr Skelton considers that, based on a combination of both clinical and statistical factors, you present a high risk of sexual recidivism against children who will either be related or known to you. He bases this conclusion on the fact that you have sexually offended against children in a variety of ways throughout your adult life, you meet the diagnostic criteria for a paedophile disorder and you acknowledge you still have an intense and preferential sexual interest in children coupled with a strong sex drive. However, he notes that you have never received intervention or treatment before and you are currently expressing a strong willingness to engage in treatment to address the causes of your offending. In addition, he points out that research has shown that sex offenders who reach the age of 60 years have a statistical reduction in risk of committing further sexual offending. For these reasons he considers a lengthy finite sentence may be preferable in providing adequate protection for the community.

[48]   Against that background I am left to make my own assessment of the risk that you pose in the future. I deal with that issue when considering whether to exercise my discretion in favour of a finite sentence or a sentence of preventive detention.

(d)The absence of, or failure of, efforts by the offender to address the cause or causes of the offending

[49]   As will already be obvious from the matters to which I have referred, you have not had the opportunity to date to engage in either treatment or therapeutic intervention to address the causes of your offending. This is not your fault, because this is the first time you have been before the courts. This factor therefore counts in your favour in terms of sentence.

(e)The principle that a lengthy finite sentence is preferable if this provides adequate protection for the community.

[50]   This factor really speaks for itself. It represents Parliament’s view that where the community can be adequately protected through the imposition of a finite sentence then it is preferable that a finite sentence be imposed. The key issue, however, is whether the community can be adequately protected by such a sentence.

[51]   I must now reach my own conclusion as to the risk that you pose of committing another qualifying sexual offence upon your release from prison. That is not an easy task because we are necessarily looking at events that would occur many years in the future. Nevertheless, the past is always a good guide and for a period of approximately 24 years you were prepared to offend sexually in a serious way against a variety of victims. This suggests to me, as I have already observed, that the likely causes of your offending are deep-seated and will be difficult to address. Like at least two of the health assessors, I consider you are at high risk of reoffending in the future, particularly if you do not undergo intensive treatment to address the causes of your offending.

[52]   This leads me to the final issue, which is whether I should exercise my discretion in favour of a finite sentence or a sentence of preventive detention. In this context the protection of the community is paramount. The extent to which you have caused harm to the community by your offending means that, in my view, no sentence other than a sentence of preventive detention would be appropriate. I acknowledge that you could gain access to treatment whilst serving a finite sentence. The risk that I perceive, however, is that although you express a willingness now to undergo such treatment, this may change over the years that you spend in prison. It will be some years before you are able to access therapeutic programmes to address the causes of your offending. There must always be a risk that your resolve will fade over time and that you will not fully engage in the courses and treatments that will be offered to you.

[53]   The further difficulty that I see with a finite sentence is that, whatever term the Court imposes, you will be released from prison at the conclusion of that sentence. The Court has the power to impose an extended supervision order and it may be that this could be imposed in your case. Nevertheless, the harm that you have caused over

so many years means that this Court cannot take the chance or risk of imposing a sentence that will not ensure the safety of the community on your release.

[54]   For these reasons I am satisfied a sentence of preventive detention is appropriate because it means you will not be released from prison until the prison and psychological authorities are sure you no longer pose a risk to the safety of the community. Having said that, I also want to recognise the fact that you are currently motivated to engage in therapeutic intervention. That is important, because without your engagement in such processes there is no prospect of you being released from prison.

[55]   In its written submissions, the Crown suggested that if I was to impose a sentence of preventive detention I should also impose a minimum term of ten years before you will be eligible to apply for parole. That is a lengthy period, and I am also aware that therapeutic programmes will not be offered to you in prison until you have completed any minimum term of imprisonment the Court might impose.

[56]   I do not consider it would be conducive to your rehabilitation to impose a minimum term of ten years imprisonment. First, that is likely to be crushing to you. Secondly, it leaves too long a period before you can undergo therapy. Furthermore, the imposition of a lesser minimum term of imprisonment provides you with an incentive to embark on the programmes that will be offered to you and to fully engage with them. The incentive lies in the fact that you will know you will not be released from prison unless and until you have undergone such programmes and treatment as may be appropriate and necessary to address the causes of your offending. For that reason the minimum term I have selected is one of six years imprisonment.

Sentence

[57]   On each of the charges of sexual violation you are sentenced to preventive detention and ordered to serve a minimum term of six years imprisonment before being eligible to apply for parole.

[58]   On the ten charges of committing indecencies on a young person under 16 years of age, you are sentenced to three years imprisonment.

[59]   On the eight charges of making an intimate visual recording you are sentenced to two years imprisonment.

[60]   On the 13 charges of doing an indecent act on children under 12 years of age, you are sentenced to four years imprisonment.

[61]   On the one charge of committing an indecent act in a public place you are sentenced to two years imprisonment.

[62]   On the ten charges of indecent assault of a child under the age of 12 years of age, you are sentenced to four years imprisonment.

[63]All of those sentences are to be served concurrently.

[64]   I make a final order suppressing your name from publication. That order is made not for your benefit, but to prevent those members of the family who are also your victims from being identified.

[65]Stand down.

Lang J

Solicitors:

Crown Solicitor, Whangarei