Guilty plea decade after offences

A man living under the same roof as his step-sister in Kaikōura has admitted sexually violating her more than a decade ago.

The girl felt like he was a friend and a brother to her, a police summary of facts said.

She did not tell anyone what happened at the time, because she didn’t want to be responsible for her mother breaking up with the defendant’s father, the summary said.

The man, now in his 30s, who cannot be named in order to protect the victim, appeared before Judge David Ruth at the Blenheim District Court on Tuesday.

He pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a girl aged 12 to 16 years old and a representative charge of violating her by way of sexual connection.

According to a police summary of facts, between January and December 2007, the defendant was residing at his family home in Kaiko¯ ura.

Also living at the address was the defendant’s father with his partner and her daughter, the victim.

The defendant and the victim would stay up after their parents had gone to bed.

They would watch TV shows in the lounge and sit close and ‘‘snuggle’’ into each other, the police summary said.

The victim felt like the defendant was her friend, like a brother, but he started making ‘‘creepy comments’’ and his hands started ‘‘wandering’’. He started to put his hand down the victim’s pants.

This happened on numerous occasions. The victim tried to push his hands away but he was ‘‘forceful and stronger than her’’, the summary said.

The defendant declined to comment and had not previously appeared before the court.

His lawyer Marcus Zintl requested a pre-sentence report and a reference to restorative justice.

He also asked for name suppression to continue through to sentencing, on the grounds the offending happened in a ‘‘small town’’, and identification of him could lead to identification of the victim.

The man was remanded to May 11 for sentencing.