Scoutmaster found guilty of 15 indecent act charges

A scoutmaster from Wellington has been found guilty of doing indecent acts with boys he took on scouting trips.

The 71-year-old originally faced 26 charges but a Wellington District Court jury yesterday found him guilty of 15 charges of doing indecent acts.

Of the other charges, including some of sexual violation – he was found not guilty or the jury was unable to return a verdict.

The Crown had alleged that he created a culture of nudity, encouraging the boys to take off their clothes and to go barefoot while on trips. It allowed him to create opportunities to offend against the complainants.

There had been six complainants – who gave their evidence in court of going on trips with him and other members of the troop.

The man has been found guilty offending against four of the boys.

He would touch them over their clothing or put his hand inside their sleeping bags.

He would walk around naked, with his genitals visible.

The man was involved in the scouting movement in the Auckland region between 1971 and 1977, and in the Wellington region between 1977 and 2018.

The man’s membership of Scouts New Zealand ended after an internal investigation in 2018.

Defence lawyer Mike Antunovic had said nearly all the charges were fabricated.

There had been one consensual encounter with a boy who was 16, while a couple of the indecent assaults had been accidental.

He said it beggared belief that the man would take such crazy risks with others nearby.

The jurors took two days to reach the verdicts.

Wellington District Court Judge Peter Hobbs remanded the man on bail until February for sentencing.