Man, aged 69, jailed for indecent assault on girls

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 5

Man, aged 69, jailed for indecent assault on girls

PA Wellington A man, aged 69, was jailed for 18 months when he appeared in the District Court at Wellington charged with indecently assaulting two girls, aged nine and 10.

Ralph Henry Millman, a retired engineer, of Paraparaumu, had pleaded guilty to two charges of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 12.

The Court was earlier told the first offence occurred during a week-end after the August school holidays. A girl, aged nine, was staying with Millman and had slept in his bed due to lack of sleeping space when he indecently assaulted her.

The second offence occured on October 8 when a girl, aged 10, was stay-

ing with Millman. He got into her bed and indecently assaulted her. Millman's counsel, Mr Martin Dawson, said Millman had a naturally good and positive side but had greater trouble than most people in accepting his dark side.

Millman had made progess acknowledging the nature of his problem to a point where therapy was a prospect.

Millman would be 70 in October and the view had been expressed that a prison sentence would be a psychological and physical strain on him, Mr Dawson said.

Judge Kearney said several reports on Millman seemed to indicate that within the community Millman still had support

and, to some, a good reputation.

“It is clear from everything that I have read that you unfortunately have a sexually related problem »which involves your attraction to pre-adolescent girls, an attraction of a sexual kind but little doubt coupled with a genuine interest and concern for the welfare of these young people,” he said-

Millman had broken the trust of a number of people after being entrusted with the care of the two girls for a short time.

“That entrustment was because the people believed they would be safe in your care ... you were, in effect, a father figure

or an uncle figure for these two young girls and they in their youthful innocence would have been like putty in your hands. “You performed indecent acts on both of these girls of a gross kind. Al-< though they (the acts) fell short of penetration, the only sentence the Court cap impose on you, bearing in mind these breaches of trust and the community’s concern for the protection of young people, is a sentence of imprisonment.” Judge Kearney said that. Millman wished he would be kept away from other inmates, but if it had not been for his age and other positive factors his sentence would have been much longer.