A 71-year-old man who took advantage of his role as a trusted scout leader and sexually abused two boys in the 1970s has been sentenced to just over six months' home detention.
Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Graeme Charles Lindsay pleaded guilty to two charges: one of fondling a boys' penis and one of inducing another boy to do so to him.
The two victims - then 12 and 13 years old, and now men - say the experiences have been traumatic and painful, and have stayed with them since.
In his victim impact statement during sentencing today, one victim said the memories of his abuse were so painful that he did not mention it anyone, not even his wife and his children, until last year. He said thinking about it made him feel "dirty and disgusting" to this day, and recounting it to police uncovered wounds.
The other said the offending has "had a deep seated impact" on him. "It has sat in my mind all my life," he said, adding that he can be surprised at the anger that is still there when he thinks about it, almost 50 years on.
Lindsay was a tutor at Dilworth School, and one of eleven men charged in relation to historical sexual offending of men against boys at the boarding school.
He also ran camping trips. It was on these that the offending took place. Lindsay described the offending as "opportunistic" and not premeditated.
In sentencing in the High Court at Auckland today, Justice Edwin Wylie said Lindsay occupied a position of trust as a scout leader, akin to a teacher, when he abused these two boys. He said one of the offences was "particularly intrusive", and the boys' young age added to their vulnerability.
Justice Wylie also noted Lindsay had proactively sought counselling, and his lawyer Nick Chisnall submitted that a number of letters in support of him demonstrated his good character and contribution to society.
Lindsay was given discounts to his sentence for pleading guilty, seeking treatment to address the root causes of his offending and his remorse.
Justice Wylie sentenced Lindsay to six months and two weeks of home detention.