Girl’s abuser gets home detention
An Auckland youth worker who groomed a 12-year-old girl and coerced her into performing sexual acts while he was supervising her at an after-school programme has been sentenced to home detention.
Devonte Vincent Walter Mulitalo, 23, admitted one charge of sexual connection with a young person under 16, and a charge of indecent communication with a young person.
He was sentenced yesterday in the Auckland District Court.
Between January and July 2017 the Glen Innes man sent “numerous” explicit images to a girl.
At the time Mulitalo worked for Youth Town, not-for-profit national organisation focused on developing 5-18 year olds. He supervised and coordinated after-school care.
A Youth Town profile said he was a basketballer who played for the NZ Development Squad, Counties Manukau and the Queensland Ipswich Force Men’s Basketball League.
After meeting the 12-year-old, Mulitalo began telling her how much he liked her. Initially he hugged her, but that moved on to kissing and further into other sexual acts. He was 21 at the time. Mulitalo would tell the girl to lie and say she needed to go to the toilet and meet him in a shed.
He would give the other children lollies and let them play video games to keep them away from the shed.
He also started meeting her outside of Youth Town.
Mulitalo was charged after his colleagues found lewd images on the girl’s phone and alerted police. Crown prosecutor Henry Steele said the victim and her family were severely affected by the offending. He said Mulitalo was a predator and the offending was a “gross breach of trust” with “catastrophic” effects for the victim and her family.
Panama Le’au’anae, for the defence, said his client was immature and “genuinely remorseful.”
Judge Mary-Beth Sharp said the accused showed a “significant level” of premeditation.
She sentenced him to 11 months home detention and ordered him to be assessed for a programme for sex offenders. She also banned him from having any contact with anyone under 16 except his brother, unless supervised by an approved adult.
She made an order to include him in the child sex offender’s register.
Mulitalo was also banned from owning, possessing or using any electronic device capable of accessing the internet and must pay $2000 in reparation to his victim at $25 per week.