David Tamihere best man to child sex abuser
Gary Nancarrow is in jail for offences against three boys but police believe photo of him may jog others’ memories
A man who sexually abused three young boys — one almost daily for a decade — has been jailed after police extradited him from Australia.
But the investigation into Gary Nancarrow — a close mate of convicted double murderer David Tamihere — is far from over as more potential victims have emerged.
In September a jury found Nancarrow guilty on six charges relating to the repeated sexual abuse of boys between 1972 and 1986.
At the time Nancarrow’s offending was most prolific, he married for the first time.
The Weekend Herald has obtained his wedding photograph, which shows Nancarrow beside his best man, Tamihere.
Tamihere spent nearly 20 years in prison after being found guilty in 1990 of murdering of Swedish backpackers Sven Urban Hoglin and Heidi Paakkonen in the Coromandel.
He had skipped bail for a 1986 rape and was on the run when the murders were committed, and had a manslaughter conviction for the 1972 death of an Auckland prostitute.
The wedding photograph was supplied to the Herald to show Nancarrow at the time of the known offending and encourage anyone who recognised him and had concerns to come forward.
Nancarrow’s historic offending — which he denies — was against three boys aged between 6 and 11.
At sentencing in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday, Judge Nevin Dawson said Nancarrow was known to the boys’ families and the children were regularly left in his care. He would manipulate situations to get the boys on their own and sexually abuse them.
Judge Dawson said the harm If you want to speak to police about the case, contact the Waitemata police adult sexual assault team on
09 477 5021.
If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the Safe to Talk confidential crisis helpline on 0800
044 334.
Nancarrow caused his victims was “profound and still ongoing”.
He described Nancarrow’s actions as “intolerable” and a “a gross violation of trust” and sent him to prison for four years and nine months.
Nancarrow’s offending came to light in 2011 when the first of his victims went to police.
Within a couple of months, two more men had come forward.
Police began extradition proceedings in 2016 and the sex offender was brought back to Auckland soon after.
He stood trial in September and was found guilty, despite protesting his innocence.
Detective Steve Norris said police had recently been made aware of other potential victims.
Police were currently investigating those complaints.
Norris believed there might be more people who wanted to speak to police about Nancarrow’s offending.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Nancarrow was involved with coaching junior teams the Waitemata Seagulls rugby league club bases in Ranui.
He was also heavily involved with Boystown — now Youthtown.
Nancarrow grew up in Waterview but lived and worked in various places around West Auckland, including an auto-parts store in New Lynn.
Aside from several drink-driving convictions, Nancarrow had never been in trouble with the law.
“He just flew under the radar all those years — grooming boys, using alcohol and threatened to harm his victims’ families,” said Norris.
“There could be more victims out there.”
One of Nancarrow’s known victims spoke to the Weekend Herald after sentencing, saying he wanted the world to know what Nancarrow had done to him.
He feared there would be more people affected by the child-sex offender.
“I couldn’t have given a toss if it was only a week in jail — it was more about making sure other people are safe and that people have the ability to come forwards now,” he said.
“I knew I wasn’t the only one . . . the biggest thing for me is now he’s on the register for the rest of his life.
“I just didn’t want him to hurt anyone else . . . this wasn’t about airing my dirty laundry publicly, I just wanted him to stop hurting people.”
The man said the day the jury convicted Nancarrow, his own life changed almost immediately.
For the first time in 30 years he slept soundly. His anxiety, night terrors, nightmares and other issues had dissipated.
“Forty years of darkness is gone,” he said.