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Christchurch Court News Prominent Canterbury businessman
Peter Maxwell Stewart has gone to jail for three-and-a-half years still asserting
his innocence for historic sexual abuse convictions and has immediately
signalled an appeal. The Christchurch High Court was
full of family, friends and business associates as 62-year-old Stewart – son
of PDL founder Sir Robertson Stewart – received his sentence from Justice
Graham Panckhurst. The victim and her family were
also there to see the sentencing, two months after the end of the trial in
which the woman gave evidence of abuse by Stewart from when she was aged 8 to
14 years. The offending was from 1968 to
1974 when Stewart was in his 20s. Defence counsel Jonathan Eaton sought a
reduced sentence for Stewart’s blameless life since then, and the public
vilification that had taken place since his conviction on five charges of
indecency, one of rape, and one of sodomy. Outside the Court House, Mr Eaton
told media Stewart was grateful for the continued support of family and
friends “which steadfastly continues today”. He said an appeal would
immediately be filed and he would therefore make no further comment. A statement from the family of the
victim, a woman now in her 40s, said that the conviction of Stewart brought
some closure for her and those close to her. “Over the past three years this
horrible situation has devastated, disintegrated and destroyed families and
extended families. It has stretched or ruined long term friendships. This is
minor to the fact that the victim has lived with her own hell for most of her
life,” the statement said, asking for privacy for the woman. Mr Eaton told the court Stewart
still “adamantly maintains his innocence”. His good character came through
compellingly and overwhelmingly in more than 50 unsolicited references
submitted to the court. “They speak of a man who is
generous, loyal, kind, considerate, and who has made a considerable
contribution to his farming community in Hororata.” He expected Stewart’s age and
status in the community would cause difficulties in prison. “This is
undoubtedly a case where the fact of imprisonment rather than the term of
imprisonment is what is going to have the significant impact.” Justice Panckhurst said that
although the convictions were not on representative charges he regarded them
as “a course of conduct”. Crown prosecutor Phil Shamy said:
“This was a course of conduct which involved grooming, game playing, and
leading to violation.” The offending had been against a young girl who was a
vulnerable victim. Justice Panckhurst said the
indecency offences had happened first, involving touching, masturbation, and
one of oral contact. The sodomy on the girl had been “thankfully a single and
isolated incident” when she was aged about 13, and had caused bleeding. The rape took place when she had
broken her ankle in a ski accident and Stewart was driving her for medical
attention. She had endured the act so that the journey could continue. The jury seemed to have accepted
her frank evidence that she had later become infatuated with him, and they
had returned not guilty verdicts on four more rape charges. They could not
agree on other one rape count. “You are entirled to significant
credit on account of the fact that you are before the court aged 62 as a
first offender.” He noted references describing Stewart as “generous,
trustworthy, moral, sociable, and gentlemanly”. “How is one to regard the crimes
that you committed as a young man? I can only see them as a stand-alone
aberrant period in an otherwise good life.” He was satisfied there was no need
for personal deterrence. No reparation payment had been
sought by the victim, nor offered by Stewart. He noted there could be no
expression of remorse because Stewart continued to assert his innocence
despite the evidence at the trial. He had admitted having consensual sex with
the woman once when she was aged 17. After the sentencing, the Stewart
family issued a statement “to make public their united and absolute support
for Peter Stewart” . “The family, including Peter’s
wife Pieter and their children, fully believe in his innocence and are
committed to fighting for that outcome. Preparations for an appeal are
already under way,” the statement reads. |
