Two girls cursed after conviction, Court told

Press, 2 July 1986, Page 22

Two girls cursed after conviction, Court told

PA Auckland “ A minister with the Cook Islands Church said he believed two young girls were cursed after a man was convicted of sexually violating them. *’ The man, who appeared before Mr Justice Hillyer in the High Court at Auckland, was sentenced to six. years imprisonment on two charges of having sexual intercourse with Jhe girls. His name was suppressed. " His Honour said the offender’s lawyer, Mr A. F. A. Orme, had indicated ‘there would be an appeal against conviction. “ He said he was surprised to learn that ;Kopu Tangata, a group ■from the Cook Islands Community which he gathered was a family help committee, had interviewed the youngest ■girl through a pastor and one of the elders. The pastor and elder had given evidence in Court, and it appeared that the elder was a cousin of the offender, .who had asked him to do what he could to help the offender. In that atmosphere, the girl told them no offence had taken place. His Honour said that where a conviction of such a nature had been entered, whether there

was an appeal against conviction pending, it was quite wrong for the two men to have Interviewed the girl and obtained statements of denial from her. “I would like the Cook Islands community to understand that a child in this position is tremendously vulnerable,” he said. “The trauma she has to go through by giving evidence in court should not be added to by friends of the accused seeing her and obtaining statements from her to exculpate the accused. These children have had a dreadful experience. Whether they will recover we don’t know.” Such attempts, said his Honour, could only do

harm, and should not be repeated. Mr Orme had submitted that the man should be released into the community so that Kopu Tangata could look after him. In his view that would be quite wrong, said his Honour. The man had been like a father to the girls. He abused them, confessed to the police, then apparently changed his mind and pleaded not guilty. Earlier, the Rev. Teariki Vaerua, a minister of the Cook Islands Church, said he and an elder had interviewed the youngest girl about a week ago. She told them no offence took place and she wanted her “father” home.

Cross-examined by Miss Deborah Toohill, for the Crown, the minister said he heard that a curse had been put on the children after the man’s conviction, and that both girls were visioiy upsei. Asking His Honour to sentence the man to at least five years imprisonment, Miss Toohill said the evidence indicated that the youngest girl had been interfered with since the age of five. The man admitted having sexual intercourse with her from the age of seven. The older girl was violated by him until she was 12. Violence and threats of violence were used by the offender to force his victims into sexual activities