Jail for sexual violation

Press, 22 July 1989, Page 6

Jail for sexual violation

PA Whangarei A Whangarei youth was jailed yesterday for a year when he appeared in the High Court at Whangarei for sentence for three sexual offences against a young girl. lan Ross Tolhopf, aged 18, unemployed, of Morningside, had pleaded guilty to sexually violating and twice indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl between January and March last year. Mr Justice Henry sentenced Tolhopf to 12 months imprisonment for

the sexual violation and six months for each charge of indecent assault, the sentences to run concurrently. The Judge said he had taken into account Tolhopf’s age and background, his plea of guilty and the fact he had already spent a month in prison awaiting sentence. He said the offences had been repetitive and Tolhopf had betrayed a trust placed in him in committing them. Tolhopf’s counsel, Mr Arthur Fairley, had asked

the Judge to impose a sentence of corrective training coupled with supervision. Mr Fairley said the offences had happened during a period of “aberration” in his client’s life and Tolhopf regretted his actions and was unlikely to reoffend. For the Crown, Mr Phillip Smith ssaid the aggravating feature of Tolhopf’s offending had been the abuse of trust placed in him with a young girl sexually assaulted in her own bed.