Sex offender was caregiver for at risk teenagers
An Oranga Tamariki caregiver found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old boy, had previously been in a sexual relationship with a young man he met while working at a home for vulnerable youth.
Malcolm Wayne Campbell, 50, was found guilty in Christchurch District Court yesterday of two counts of sexual connection with a 13-year-old.
Campbell was acquitted of a third charge of doing an indecent act on a young person. The verdict followed a trial before Judge Paul Kellar after Campbell had denied the charges against him.
The Crown’s case was that Campbell took part in a ‘‘threesome’’ at his home with Josh Brady, who was 21 at the time, and a 13-yearold boy who had been in Campbell’s care for a few months previously.
During the trial, Camp- bell admitted there was a sexual encounter between Brady and the boy at his home but denied he was involved. He claimed he ‘‘bolted’’ from the room when Brady and the boy started engaging in sexual activity, and that he was ‘‘disgusted’’ by what he saw.
Judge Kellar rejected Campbell’s version of events, pointing to several aspects of the case that proved Campbell did take part in the sexual activity at his home that night.
The judge said the complainant had been a credible and reliable witness who ‘‘did not appear to have an axe to grind’’ about either Campbell or Brady.
The judge also found Campbell’s explanation on why he did not report the sexual relationship between Brady and the boy to police implausible. Campbell claimed he did not go to police because he had previously reported concerns to them that they did not act on and he felt brushed off.
Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive for services for children and families Dee McManus-Emery described Campbell’s offending as ‘‘an abhorrent abuse of the trust placed in him as a caregiver’’.
‘‘We can confirm that as soon as Oranga Tamariki became aware of the allegations, we took appropriate steps and he is no longer a caregiver.’’
Campbell said during the trial that his sexual partners were usually over 18 but Brady had ‘‘slipped through’’.
Campbell and Brady started a sexual relationship while Brady was 17.
Campbell had been providing care for children for over 30 years. He first met Brady at Dormer House, a home for vulnerable youth, when Brady was 15 years old and Campbell was a staff member.
Brady was kicked out of Dormer House after about six months and went to live
with Campbell for about three months, before going into the care of another foster caregiver.
At the beginning of 2017, when Brady was 17 years old, he moved back in with Campbell and the pair started a sexual relationship.
The sexual relationship, described by Campbell as ‘‘casual’’, lasted onand-off for over three years.
Judge Kellar noted there was nothing to suggest the relationship between Brady and Campbell was anything but consensual.
When asked whether Oranga Tamariki was aware of the sexual relationship between Brady and Campbell when the 13-year-old boy was placed in Campbell’s care, McManus-Emery said it could not ‘‘give case specific details due to privacy’’.
Speaking in general, McManusEmery said Oranga Tamariki would consider it inappropriate for a caregiver to engage in a sexual relationship with a person who used to be in their care even if that person was of a consenting age.
Campbell has been remanded on bail until his sentencing on October 5.