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The Press
Sunday Star-Times FAREWELL FREEDOM: Peter
Stewart, front, walks with son Soren Stewart, left, brother Robert Stewart
and private investigator Dave Haslett through central Christchurch for
sentencing in the High Court. A lifetime of comfortable
wealth came to an abrupt halt for a member of Christchurch's high-society
Stewart family when he was jailed for historic sex offences yesterday. Peter Stewart, the
son of electrical goods tycoon Sir Robertson Stewart and husband of Fashion
Week owner Pieter Stewart, was jailed for 3 1/2 years when he appeared in the
High Court in Christchurch before Justice Graham Panckhurst. After being told his
offending had caused "huge emotional harm", a grim-faced but
composed Stewart, 62, began his new life, starting with a ride in the
lunchtime prison van to the bleak confines of Paparua Prison in Templeton. Former inmates say
Stewart, who has spent his life farming in Hawarden and Hororata, driving
sports cars and skippering a luxury charter yacht, is in for the shock of his
life. "He will do it
hard," said one. "He won't be able to pick up the phone and write
out a cheque. It will be the mindless day-to-day routine that will do him in,
and the crap he has to listen to from other inmates." On arriving at prison
yesterday, Stewart had to swap the smart, dark suit and tie he wore in court
for a standard-issue, blue tracksuit. He was given a health check. Dinner
last night was savoury mince with potatoes, two vegetables, two slices of
bread and butter and one piece of fruit. Stewart was able to wash it down
with tea or water (a daily milk allowance is available in the morning).
Corrections budgets $4 a day for an inmate's food. New inmates like
Stewart are housed in an assessment unit until a security classification is
completed. As an older, first-time inmate who denies guilt, Stewart could be
regarded as a suicide risk and probably be placed in an "at-risk"
cell for up to two weeks. He can ask to be segregated. All he will be
allowed to take to the prison is reading and writing material, a TV, a radio,
and some toiletries. Eventually Stewart
will probably be sent to Rolleston Prison where he will be in a unit with 60
to 80 other inmates. A statement from the
Stewart family after the sentencing yesterday said they fully believed in his
innocence and would appeal the convictions. The complainant, at
court yesterday in a long cream coat, also issued, through a family member, a
statement in which she said she had lived with "her own hell for most of
her life". "This horrible
situation has devastated, disintegrated and destroyed families and extended
families. It has stretched and/or ruined long-term friendships. The
conviction of Peter Stewart brings some closure for the victim and those
close to her," the statement said. In court, the
complainant, now 48, held hands with her partner and another supporter and
broke into tears when the judge began his remarks on the rape and sodomy
convictions. The case had clearly
had a profound impact not only on the complainant but also her wider family
and the Stewart family, he said. "This was
painfully evident to me throughout the trial. Family are split as a result of
these events. What occurred in this trial confirmed again that sexual abuse,
even after a period of 30 years, can wreak havoc for those involved and those
close to them," the judge said. The offending was
aggravated by its range and duration, the age and vulnerability of the
complainant, the gross breach of trust and the severe impacts on the
complainant. Stewart was, however, entitled to a significant credit as a
first offender and his otherwise good character, the judge said. "Yours is a
case of subsequent good character. I can only see them as a standalone,
aberrant period in an otherwise good life." He accepted Stewart
had suffered financial and other impacts as a result of the case and tended
to agree that the fact rather than the term of any imprisonment would satisfy
sentencing principles. However, a sentence comparable to others had to be
imposed. Jonathan Eaton, for
Stewart, said more than 50 character references spoke overwhelmingly of a man
who was generous, loyal, kind and considerate and who had made a significant
contribution to his Hororata community. He urged the court
to take into account the public vilification and humiliation Stewart and the
Stewart family had suffered from saturated and intrusive media reporting of
the case. "He has
expressly asked me to note that while his wife and daughters are undoubtedly
loyal to him, they are not in court today because of the predictable media
attention they would be forced to endure if they were here." Crown counsel Philip
Shamy said Stewart's course of conduct over a long period of time involved
grooming through game playing leading to violation. |
