A jury found Bruce Alexander Milne (66), a South Canterbury pub owner, guilty of four counts of indecency with a person under 16, and this week at the Dunedin District Court he was jailed for two years and four months.
Judge Michael Turner said the 1980s offending, which involved elements of grooming, represented a "huge" breach of trust.
Milne provided three references to the court but the judge said it did not appear all those people were aware of the details of his crimes.
One was Waimate Mayor Craig Rowley who, when contacted later by the Otago Daily Times, was staggered to hear he had unwittingly lent his support to a child abuser.
The letter he had written to Milne was to thank him for his efforts in helping some tourists during floods last year.
"It certainly wasn’t a reference or anything to be used in court," Mr Rowley said.
Had the defendant asked for such support it would have been declined "in no uncertain terms".
Milne’s first crimes took place in 1980 and 1981 when he was babysitting the victim. He gave the boy cigarettes and alcohol.
The victim woke without underwear to find Milne molesting him.
Through his teenage years, the boy was abandoned by all those close to him and the court heard how the defendant was one of the few people who took an interest in his life.
When he stayed with Milne in Naseby in 1985, the pair shared a bed and the man performed similar sex acts.
"You were an adult, you owned your own house. The victim was a child," said the judge.
"You took advantage of him to meet your sexual needs."
Counsel John Westgate said his client, who continued to deny responsibility for the sex attacks, had lost his bar-manager and firearms licences as a result of the convictions.
He described it as a "significant fall from grace" for Milne, whose only other crimes were driving offences.
"He will be seen as someone who contributed a great deal to the community and hopefully in the future will continue to do so," said Mr Westgate, who argued his client was a strong candidate for home detention.
However for that to have been considered by the judge the end sentence had to be less than two years’ imprisonment.
The victim, who had been diagnosed with clinical depression and PTSD, said he was there to see justice done.
"I’ll never know how different my life would’ve been and what I may have achieved if Bruce hadn’t offended against me in the way he did," he told the court before taking aim at the defendant.
"You have no conscience and you’re inherently a liar. Today you’re being held to account. It’s time to take responsibility."
