Man abused girls after partying with parents

A man who drank alcohol and consumed methamphetamine with the parents of two girls he went on to sexually abuse still denies any wrongdoing.

Allister Wayne Sole, 35, has been found guilty of indecent assault and assault on a child. The court ruling followed two judge-alone trials, one in February and the other in March, in the Palmerston North District Court.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges relating to the incidents involving two girls, aged 9 and 11.

On Thursday, there were emotional scenes in court as Judge Bruce Northwood said Sole was convicted on all counts.

A woman supporting him began sobbing, while family and friends of the girls expressed their relief at the verdicts.

In a written judgment, the judge said the Crown case at trial was that Sole indecently assaulted the children after social gatherings with their parents.

The first incident in 2021, involving the 11-year-old girl, happened after a celebration. Sole returned to the victim’s home that evening.

As the adults drank alcohol and smoked meth, he went to the lounge where the children were.

He rubbed the girl’s leg and genital area, and while in the kitchen he told her he would pay her to do something.

The second incident occurred some months later in 2022 with a 9-year-old child.

He went to the girl’s home where he smoked meth and had sex with her mother.

He said he was going out, after which some hours passed so the woman queried his whereabouts in the early hours of the morning.

The judge said the woman decided to check on her daughter at the same time and smelt a strong “stench of man” in her bedroom. She saw Sole hiding, and when questioned she said he told her he was just rubbing the girl’s back.

When interviewed, the child said Sole had knelt beside her bed and rubbed her leg.

He also rubbed her genital area, promised to buy her something and told her to “shush”.

The judge said there were “significant” similarities between the two incidents. They both involved girls of a similar age, the rubbing of their legs and genitals and the offering of some sort of reward.

There were differing accounts of how much alcohol and drugs were consumed by the adults, but the judge said Sole had admitted to being “obliterated” the night of the second incident.

The judge, however, found both girls were credible witnesses and Sole had failed to raise any reasonable doubt.

Sole was remanded on bail to reappear for sentencing in July.