Helena Thompson has waited seven years to say those words publicly, and 30 years for justice.
Christopher David Williams, the man who abused her on a near daily basis while he was seeing Ms Thompson’s mother, appeared in the Dunedin District Court recently, where he had nearly three years added to a 17-year sentence imposed in 2014.
It was vindication for the victim, whose life had been forever tarnished by the 77-year-old’s unrelenting violations she suffered over a three-year period from the age of 11.
Ms Thompson made the extremely rare decision to give up her automatic name suppression so she could reclaim control.
"I want my power back," she said.
"I want New Zealand to recognise that this happens a lot ... I want to be there for other girls," Ms Thompson said.
When Williams was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court in 2014, for 12 years of sex crimes against two girls, Judge Brian Callaghan said the evidence at trial painted the man as "something of a monster".
Yet he had no idea the offending stretched back further.
Court documents described how the predator would often wait until the victim’s mother — an alcoholic — had passed out before he made his advances.
Judge Michael Turner said Williams groomed the girl, using driving lessons as a reward for her compliance, and took a "graduated approach" to the abuse.
The rapes began during family camping holidays and Ms Thompson recalled the chilling moment her stepfather voiced his disgust when he discovered she had already been abused.
"So someone else has popped your cherry already," Williams said.
The judge underscored the defendant’s "degrading" and violent conduct.
Williams would call Ms Thompson derogatory names and forcefully push her down as the abuse took place, the court heard.
In 2017, after an adulthood peppered with substance abuse and mental-health struggles, the woman walked into a police station to finally tell the truth.
"I will never get back the years this man destroyed with his calculated abuse, but the future would feel less frightening if I knew he was finally held culpable for what he did to me," Ms Thompson said.
But the investigation was complex, stalled by Covid-19, and when it finally got to court in 2021, Williams pleaded not guilty.
After years of maintaining his innocence, he finally caved, just a few days before the jury trial was scheduled to begin.
Even then, he said he did so only on the advice of his lawyer.
"The stress of this case has stopped me moving forward with my life and the nightmares and suppressed feelings have been worse since walking into the police station," Ms Thompson said.
"I have been in limbo for the last seven years."
A report into Williams’ background highlighted attachment issues, social isolation and early exposure to and normalisation of violence as potential factors behind his offending.
But Judge Turner noted the defendant refused to discuss his sex crimes.
"You demonstrate no remorse and you’re not interested in any rehabilitation," he said.
On three charges of rape and three charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, the judge added two years, 10 months to Williams’ prison term.
He will be eligible for parole in April next year.
As the rapist was led to the cells, it was Ms Thompson’s daughter who had the last word.
"Rot in hell, you piece of s..."
Decades of disgrace
1992: Christopher Williams moves into Helena Thompson’s Dunedin home after starting a relationship with her mother.
1995: Sex crimes end when she goes into foster care.
1997-2009: Williams abuses two other girls at rural South Island locations.
2014: Found guilty of 12 charges and jailed for 17 years before the Christchurch District Court.
2017: Ms Thompson informs police about her ordeal at Williams’ hands.
2021: He is charged and appears in the Dunedin District Court.
2024: Jailed for a further two years and 10 months.
Need to talk?
General mental health inquiries: 0800 443-366
Ōtepoti Collective Against Sexual Abuse (Ocasa): (03) 474-1592
Rape Crisis: 0800 883-300
Women’s Refuge: 0800 REFUGE
Shine: 9am-11pm every day, 0508 744-633
Shakti: for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children. 0800 742-584
