Gaol term for sodomy

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 38186, 28 March 1973, Page 2

Gaol term for sodomy

(XZ. Press Associafion; WANGANUI. March 27. Vincent Charles Calcinai, the sole-charge teacher at Pipiriki School, was imprisoned for five years today on six charges of sodomy and eight of indecently assaulting boys aged eight to 13. Mr Justice Haslam, in the Supreme Court, told Calcinai, aged 31, who was appearing for sentence after pleading guilty to all charges in the Magistrate’s Court, that his offences were acts of shocking perversion. “There is evidence that the community, at least in some sections, had depraved morals,” his Honour said.

I “but you were sent there ex-;: peered to set an example. ! “It ill-becomes you now top | plead the low standard of the i ! children and their parents. : “You abused your position ’ 11 of responsibility and invoked lit to subject boys to your i : criminal approaches. The : ; harm you have done them:; ■ cannot' be gauged at this!! • jtime.” COUNSEL'S PLEA 1 Mr M. H. W. Lance, for'; ICalcinai, urged the Court top view the situation, the en-il vironment, and the context in! l ■ which the offences had been, 1 ■ 'committed. Calcinai felt resentment on p : his arrival at Pipiriki, i p counsel said. He found the! I 1 ! behaviour there decadent,l j jamoral and irresponsible—p an opinion reflected in the p i police summary. |i ;! “He could not. in such anp ! isolated community, get the;’ assistance he might have i

;needed and it was within 'this background that his ! standards slipped. It was not until 18 months after bis arrival that the first offence was committed. “Calcinai’s promising career is now finished and I submit that a reformative i sentence is not called for,” ;Mr Lance said. Mr F. F. Latham, for the; [Crown, said that though' some Pipiriki residents had! been unco-operative towards; i police inquiries, the first! I complaint had come from one 1 iof them. “Despite what appears to be a general level of ! immorality there, the depositions showed that the first I person to practice sodomy on i two of the boys was j Calcinai and that he used his 'authority to get the boys to: Ido what he wanted,” Mr! Latham said, urging a long: term of imprisonment. I