Serial sex abuser convicted of 33 charges against young men

Labelled a predator by police at the time of his arrest, a Taranaki man has been found guilty of the serial sexual abuse of young men.

Nigel Allan Hauauru Nelson was yesterday found guilty of 33 sex charges, including multiple counts of indecent assault, sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and the sexual exploitation of people aged under 18.

Due to the nature and extent of the offending, the Crown wants a sentence of preventive detention for the 36-year-old.

In the High Court at New Plymouth, Justice Wylie, who oversaw Nelson’s three-week trial, delivered his verdicts.

Of the 40 charges Nelson faced, he was found not guilty of seven counts, mainly due to lack of sufficient evidence.

Justice Wylie heard evidence from 14 complainants, Nelson and other witnesses said for the most part, he did not believe the defendant’s version of events.

‘‘Each charge put in issue the credibility and reliability of each complainant against the credibility and reliability of the defendant, Mr Nelson. Generally, I did not find that Mr Nelson was a credible or reliable witness.’’

The offending spanned 20 years, beginning when Nelson was 16, and took place in Otorohanga, Hamilton and Taranaki.

He targeted young men he had befriended or had offered to help.

Some of the victims were drunk or asleep when the defendant touched them without their consent. Another tactic Nelson used was the promise of escort work to the men, who were often poor, transient and struggling with drug and alcohol problems.

The defendant told them he owned an escort business and they could make up to $150 an hour.

When they indicated an interest in finding out more, Nelson would meet the men on their own, take photos of them and then initiate the unwanted sexual contact.

The escort business was described by the Crown as a ruse Nelson had created, to the point where he created contracts and business account spreadsheets to try and give it some legitimacy.

In his ruling, Justice Wylie agreed.

‘‘He [Nelson] claimed to own brothels and strip clubs in New Plymouth, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Invercargill and he represented that he was a major player in the pornography/prostitution business. The evidence was clear that there was no such business,’’ the judge said.

During the trial it was also revealed that five of the men involved in the case had previously laid complaints with police between 1996-2006, but no action was taken.

Nelson was remanded in custody to appear for sentencing on November 2. He will also be sentenced on two representative charges he previously pleaded guilty to, one of rape and another of indecent assault of a female, committed in Otorohanga between 1994 and 1997.