Man pleads guilty to sex charges

The trial of a Taranaki man accused of sexually abusing a young girl he occasionally babysat came to an unexpected end with the defendant admitting some offending.

At the opening day of Gordon William Lemberg’s trial in the New Plymouth District Court on Monday, the accused was defending nine sex charges, two of which were rape.

The Crown alleged the abuse spanned 2008 to 2013 and involved one complainant, a Taranaki girl known to the defendant.

But defence lawyer Eric Forster said nothing indecent nor sexual occurred between his client and the girl.

The complainant, now 17, said the abuse began when she was about seven and took place at both New Plymouth and Okato addresses throughout the years.

She was the first to give evidence in the Crown’s case, at times becoming emotional, as she recounted her relationship with Lemberg, now a hearingimpaired man in his late 50s.

‘‘I looked up to him as a grandparent,’’ she said.

He would often babysit her and take her to the shop to buy her lollies, she said.

The victim said she never revealed the abuse until 2016, first telling a school friend’s father and then her own mother.

In evidence, she spoke about the pain, shock and anger she endured following the abuse.

But partway through the complainant’s testimony, the trial by jury, set down for about three days, came to an abrupt end after the Crown made an application to amend some of the charges. The remaining were withdrawn.

Forster then entered guilty pleas on behalf of Lemberg to three charges of sexual conduct with a child under the age of 12.

With the swift end to the trial, the six remaining Crown witnesses were no longer needed and the jury was dismissed.

Lemberg will reappear in court on February 15 for sentencing.