Stepdad jailed for sex abuse

A Blenheim man who sexually abused his disabled stepdaughter told her he wanted to prepare her for when she went flatting.

The man, who has name suppression to protect the victim’s identity, was jailed for five years and eight months for what a judge said was ‘‘a gross breach of trust’’.

The man appeared by audio visual link at the Blenheim District Court after admitting to unlawful sexual connection with a person over 16 and indecently assaulting a female over 16.

The incidents took place between October 1 and December 11 2018.

The court heard from the victim’s mother that the offending had ‘‘ripped apart’’ the family.

The police summary said on one occasion the offending happened after the victim was helping the man hang Christmas lights around the garage and he closed the garage roller door.

All the offending took place when he was looking after the woman and had been left alone with her, the summary said.

The victim was told on these occasions that he wanted her to practise the acts he performed on her ‘‘in order to prepare her for when she goes flatting’’, the summary said.

When spoken to by police, the defendant admitted some of the offending.

A sibling of the victim, who read a statement to the court, said the man had been a ‘‘role model’’ and a ‘‘real father’’ to both of them.

‘‘At first I didn’t believe the offending. When I found out about the evidence, I lost all respect for him.’’

It had been a really stressful time for their family, with the victim breaking down and saying she wanted to kill herself, the sibling said.

The victim had ‘‘really loved’’ the defendant and was ‘‘so happy she had someone she could call her Dad’’.

A victim impact statement read on behalf of the mother, said she had become psychologically distressed, drained, tired and lived in anxiety and fear, since the offending.

‘‘I feel quite numb the majority of the time. I feel like constantly crying, however I know I have to be strong for my kids.

‘‘We have been betrayed by someone we loved and trusted. Our family has been ripped apart.’’

The defendant’s lawyer, Rob Harrison, passed up a letter to the judge which he said showed a ‘‘clear acknowledgement’’ of the harm he had inflicted on his family.

‘‘Even though the language he uses might raise eyebrows . . . he is struggling to understand fully the criminality of his offending, but he accepts what he’s done is wrong and he accepts his responsibility for it and the impact on the people he regarded as his family.’’

The man had worked hard over his life and had not previously been before the court.

The man had been struggling with the ‘‘inadequacy’’ of medical assistance in prison and had already experienced a loss of reputation.

‘‘As a result of his actions he’s lost this family, but also his previous family,’’ Harrison said.

Judge Tony Zohrab said the defendant’s actions were a ‘‘gross breach in trust’’ towards a ‘‘vulnerable complainant’’.

The ‘‘ripple effect’’ of what he did for his own ‘‘sexual gratification’’ would be carried by the family for the rest of their lives, Zohrab said. ‘‘I’ve read your letter of apology but I’m still left with the same conclusion, that you don’t have true insight into what you’ve done.’’

Zohrab sentenced the man to five years and eight months’ imprisonment.