Sex offender gym coach jailed for 16 years
BLENHEIM: A former gymnastics coach has been sentenced to almost 16 years in prison for committing more than 250 sexual offences against young girls in his care over the last decade.
Gregory David Pask, 61, appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday for sentencing on 60 charges of sexual offending that included unlawful sexual connection, doing indecent acts, as well as making and possessing objectionable publications.
The charges relate to five known victims — and a number who could not be identified.
Last December, Pask plead guilty to nearly 30 charges of sexual offending, before admitting to more charges last month.
He had been a coach at the Blenheim Gymnastics Club for the last 25 years and was a trusted member of the community, coaching the 711yearold group, and up to 180 children a week, mostly young girls.
Many of the charges were representative — which meant multiple offences of the same type were alleged to have been committed in similar circumstances.
He was sentenced to 15 years and nine months in prison, with a nonparole period of 10 years.
Pask was trusted by many given his role at the gymnastics club and as a result, often took young girls away to competitions outside of Blenheim, without their parents. Several families also allowed their daughters to stay at his house during weekends and holidays.
Almost 50 of the charges relate to five known victims, who were aged between 6 and 11yearsold, between 2015 and 2023.
Police identified 256 offences were committed by Pask against girls over almost eight years. Many of his victims were assaulted while they were asleep at his home.
Further offending occurred in Pask’s car while travelling to gymnastics trips, in other people’s homes and in Christchurch.
He made recordings of his offending on more than 100 occasions, which were found stored on devices kept in his bedroom.
Police have said there are a number of victims who could not be identified in the recordings — with Pask committing 46 offences against them over nearly eight years.
Thousands of videos and images depicting the sexual assault of children were also found on storage devices in Pask’s home.
Judge Garry Barkle said Pask had shown a complex level of manipulative and secretive behaviour and had groomed his victims over many years.
‘‘The level of harm you have caused, Mr Pask, is incalculable. It has been utterly destructive and each of the victims and their families are now living lives that none of them deserve.’’ — RNZ