Serial child sex offender groomed ‘easy targets’
A serial child sex abuser, whose offending stretches back to the early 1990s, told police his victims were ‘‘easy targets due to their upbringing and lack of family support’’.
Glyn Tatham was sentenced at the High Court in Rotorua this month after being found guilty of two charges of indecently assaulting a boy between the ages of 12 and 16 years, and one charge of rape.
The charges stem from offending that took place in 1997.
Tatham was sentenced by Justice Graham Lang to three years and six months in prison for the rape charge, to be served cumulatively on his current eight-year sentence for earlier offending, and two years each for the indecent assault charges, to be served concurrently.
Details of Tatham’s almost 30 years of offending are spelt out in Lang’s sentencing notes, including details of the offending behind his latest conviction.
Tatham used access to electronic games and sweets to create what was described as a ‘‘place of refuge’’ for one victim, a process Lang said showed ‘‘an element of grooming and premeditation’’.
On one occasion he indecently touched one victim, later raping him.
‘‘You denied, however that you would have intentionally engaged in [a specific form of abuse]’’ Lang said.
‘‘You said that on a previous occasion you had accidentally engaged in behaviour of that type, but this was unintentional . . . the jury’s verdict on the sexual violation charge means they did not accept your explanation.’’
Lang also said sentencing was complicated by the fact Tatham was already serving an eight-year sentence imposed in 2014 for offending that took place between
2006 and 2013. Lang also revealed the toll Tatham’s offending had taken, saying it had a ‘‘devastating impact’’ on the victim at the centre of the latest sentencing.
‘‘It has affected him deeply in many different ways over the last
24 years. You need to understand that he believes that you have effectively ruined his life.’’
Details of earlier offending reveal how Tatham used alcohol and cannabis to intoxicate victims, and offered some victims money to perform sex acts. One victim was 11-years-old at the time. Tatham’s offending first came to light in 2013 when his partner at the time saw the contents of a memory card containing objectionable material, prompting her to contact police.
‘‘You admitted your offending to the police and acknowledged you had done wrong,’’ the sentencing notes said.
‘‘In addition, you told the police you knew your victims were easy targets due to their upbringing and lack of family support. You said you knew they were susceptible to your influence and you would groom them to engage in sexual acts with you.’’
Tatham also told police he ‘‘needed help,’’ however he was later thrown out of a therapeutic treatment programme ‘‘because of inappropriate behaviour towards younger attendees’’.
‘‘This means you now remain effectively untreated,’’ Lang said. ‘‘The issue of further treatment is obviously an issue the prison and parole authorities will need to focus on over coming years.’’