A 78-year-old Manawatu man has been sentenced to 14 years' in jail for historic sexual offending against seven victims.
The man has name suppression to protect the identities of his victims. Following a trial at Palmerston North District Court last October, he was found guilty on 21 charges including rape, sexual violation, child cruelty and injuring with intent.
Today Judge Les Atkins reduced the starting point of 16 years' imprisonment for the offending by two years because of his age.
Police said the man's offending made up one of the worst and most complex cases of Operation Hope, an operation set up to sort through more than 100 open cases of child abuse due to police understaffing and systemic failures.
"I want today's sentencing to send a clear message to all communities across New Zealand that adult victims of historic sexual offending can come forward and can make a complaint to the New Zealand police and know that it will be fully investigated," said Detective Senior Sergeant Tusha Penny, head of the Wellington District Child Protection Team.
"Since Operation Hope was launched in December 2008, we have moved ahead in leaps and bounds when it comes to the investigation of child abuse. We now have a dedicated Wellington District team of close to 30 investigators, working with multi agencies, to protect the most vulnerable members of our community."
The district child protection team will move into a building in Petone that will also house staff from Child Youth and Family and Hutt Valley District Health Board.
A joint partnership with agencies in the sector and the community was the best way to deal with child abuse investigations, police believed.
