Man jailed on historic sex charges
A woman says the abuse she suffered as a young child left her with a ‘‘complete feeling of shame’’ that has hovered through her adult life.
Piers John Helm, 61, was sentenced yesterday to one year and two months’ imprisonment in the Nelson District Court on historic sex charges.
The offending took place in the late 1970s and early 80s, and Judge Denys Barry had to apply a penalty in line with sentencing law at that time.
The court heard the offending took place when the defendant was in his 20s and living in Motueka.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said as a young girl, she had thought she was in safe hands with Helm, who was considered one of the family.
‘‘I thought I was special to him, he showed me so much attention I thought he cared about me, but now know his actions were just to satisfy his own revolting desires,’’ she said.
She hadn’t come to fully understand the abuse until later in life and it had taken a long time for her process where her long-term feelings of guilt had come from. She’d battled with depression and the abuse had impacted her family relationships.
It had been ‘‘soul destroying’’ to confront the abuse.
‘‘A lot of money has been spent on counselling and I had to go to hospital for post-traumatic stress disorder in learning that what happened to me was not my fault, or my parents, but solely Helm’s.’’
The defendant was a close friend of the victim’s family and a police summary of facts said he’d shown the victim ‘‘a lot of attention and affection’’. He taken her out for what he called ‘‘driving lessons’’ where he would sit her on his lap, working the pedals while she held the steering wheel.
On many occasions he kissed and touched her inappropriately, in a manner that escalated over time, which Judge Barry said amounted to ‘‘a kind of grooming’’.
While Helm has maintained his innocence, he was found guilty at a trial by jury in November on four charges of indecent assault. He was cleared of one charge.
In sentencing, Judge Barry had to consider what the law was during the 1970s. The most serious element of Helm’s offending would now be dealt with by way of a sexual violation charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. However in 1980 the offending would have been charged as the indecent assault of a female under 12, carrying a maximum penalty of just 10 years.
‘‘I am required by law to sentence on the basis that would have applied back then, when this abuse was happening, in far less enlightened times,’’ he said.
He also could not apply any uplift to the sentence because at the time of the Motueka offending, Helm had no previous convictions. However, in 2013 he was sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment for offending against another child.
Judge Barry had to consider whether a sentence of home detention would be appropriate.
He said the seriousness of the form of indecent assault, the time of ‘‘gradual grooming’’ and breach of trust could only be met by a sentence of imprisonment.
He commended the victim as displaying the resilience of a ‘‘courageous’’ person who had worked back through the trauma and emerged with ‘‘strength and tenacity’’.
Speaking after court, the victim said while the sentence wasn’t a long one, given it had to be imposed under old law, it still gave her closure.
‘‘He could have just got home detention which would have been the worst outcome,’’ she said.
She said New Zealand Police had been ‘‘amazing’’ and very supportive, and while it had been a long process she was pleased it had come to an end before Christmas.
She also hoped her story might encourage other women who’d been subject to historic sex abuse as children to speak up and seek justice.
Anyone wanting to report a rape or sexual assault should call their local police station, or if it’s an emergency, dial 111. Those in Nelson wanting help sexual abuse support, can contact Sexual Abuse Support and Healing (SASH) on 03 548 2407.