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NZ Herald
Peter Stewart with wife Pieter. Peter Stewart's accuser says she
might never have gone to court had he not rung her four years ago. Carolyne
Meng-Yee reports The woman who shattered the fairy-tale
history of Canterbury's well-to-do Stewart dynasty is tall, blonde, blue-eyed
and smart. She also has a sharp sense of humour, model-like features and a
winning smile. Just days after Peter Stewart,
62-year-old son of revered plastics and electrical industrialist, the late
Sir Robertson Stewart, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail for rape, sodomy
and sexual abuse of a young girl, his saddened but stoic victim told the
Herald on Sunday she might never have pursued Stewart through the courts if he
had not contacted her at her work four years ago. "I would have kept quiet, but
then he opened the wound and I thought 'oh no, not again'." The woman, now in her late 40s,
and a mother, had moved happily amid the world of the Stewart family's
multi-million-dollar fortune which funded exquisite homes, expensive cars and
yachts, and a high society lifestyle. This largesse came courtesy of PDL
Industries, the Stewarts' landmark plastics and electrical business, which
was sold to French company Schneider in 2001 for nearly $100m. As the Christchurch High Court
heard late last year, Peter Maxwell Stewart, who is married to New Zealand
Fashion Week maven Pieter Stewart, initially faced 15 counts of sexual abuse. He was convicted of three counts
of indecent assault, two counts of inducing indecent acts and sodomy and
rape. The charges related to incidents between 1968 and 1974 when Stewart was
22 to 29 and his victim a young girl aged 8 to 14. Within minutes of this week's
sentencing, defence counsel Jonathan Eaton signalled the Stewart family's
intention to appeal. The woman said she felt numb when
the guilty verdicts were brought in. "I wasn't happy, I wasn't sad. It's
just been a really hard time and very sad." She added it had been the most
difficult thing in her life to come forward because it had destroyed her
family. "Sitting through that trial made me feel sick. I was on the
stand for four days and my stomach was tied in knots." Stewart had maintained his
innocence throughout the trial and to this day. His defence alleged his
victim was a fantasist, a liar and blackmailer. He admitted only one act of
consensual sex with the victim when she was 17. But the judge noted that Stewart's
rape conviction had come about from an incident alleged to have taken place when
the girl was aged 14. The prosecution said she had
broken her ankle skiing and was being taken for medical assistance by
Stewart, who had stopped at his home and raped her en route. "I hate him for what he has
done to me and how he has destroyed our families," the woman insists.
"It's been really hard. When I first told my daughter she was so shocked
and we haven't really talked a lot since." At sentencing in the High Court at
Christchurch on Tuesday Justice Panckhurst noted that the impact on the complainant
had been severe and that she had been caused "huge emotional harm". He said: "Families are split
as a result of these events. If confirmation was required, what occurred in
this trial confirmed again that sexual abuse, even after a period of over 30
years, can wreak havoc for those involved and those closest to them." The woman says she had tried to
block things out for years. "Life has been quite tough and I think it
broke up my marriage but now I have to get on with life." The length of Stewart's sentence
was immaterial, she said, and there was no question she had been motivated by
money. "Now I feel much stronger as a person." She had words of encouragement for
other women contemplating reporting sexual abuse. "I want to say to
other women - to other victims - come forward and speak out. The police are
wonderful. But be patient because it is a long process and you will get
tired." She was wary of the Stewart
family's continued insistence of Peter Stewart's innocence and their
determination, voiced after sentencing this week, to appeal against the
convictions. "We are all so tired and
drained," she said. "I just don't want any more dramas." |
