Two years jail for sex offence

Press, 21 October 1980, Page 5

Two years jail for sex offence

PA Wellington A scout leader has been jailed for two years by a Judge in the High Court at Wellington for offences involving a 12-year-old boy. Neil Henrv Symons, aged 26, a section officer, was found guilty by a jury on one charge of attempted sodomy and two of indecent assault. The offences concerned a boy the accused came to know through his association with a scout group, said Mr Justice O’Regan. In his evidence, Symons had emphasised that the offences arose not in the course of scout activities but of private pursuits. On one occasion he had

gone to Feilding for a week with the boy, with the parents’ consent. The accuser had been in a position of trust in the scout group and the boy was under his influence, his Honour said. It was a gross breach of trust and a grave let-down to the scout movement. In the short time he had been in custody awaiting trial he had to be put in solitary confinement to protect him from abuse and possible assault from fellow inmates. Sadly, however, the interests of the community must outweigh the accused’s personal needs, his Honour said.