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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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Northern Advocate A Northland man
who raped a young girl repeatedly has been jailed for 15 years - but still
claims he is innocent. William Ronald
Carey, 43, labourer of Whangarei, was sentenced to 15 years' jail when he
appeared in Whangarei District Court yesterday after previously being found
guilty by a jury on six charges of sexual violation by rape, two charges of
sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and one of indecent assault. Judge Keith de
Ridder said yesterday that Carey must serve a minimum non-parole period of
nine years in jail before he was able to be considered for parole. Defence lawyer
Nigel Cook said Carey accepted the verdicts but still believed he was
innocent and claimed ``it never happened''. Judge de Ridder
said the offending had happened on many occasions where Carey would get the
girl alone and rape her. One time he had
been watching a pornographic video and forced her to perform sexual acts on
him. Judge de Ridder
read parts of the victim's impact statement which said she suffered from post
traumatic stress syndrome, deep depression, nightmares and at one point she
had considered suicide. ``So far I can't
find anyone or anything to remove the pain. It is something that will stay
with me for life,'' the victim said. ``Your actions have ruined my life.'' Crown prosecutor
Peter Magee said it was abhorrent offending over six years and there were no
mitigating circumstances in the case. He suggested 15 years was an
appropriate starting point. Judge de Ridder
agreed: ``The jury accepted what the victim said. There are no mitigating
circumstances, there is no remorse expressed and there are no factors that
enable me to decrease the starting point.'' In an unusual
step during the sentencing, the judge allowed Carey's sister to read a
statement on behalf of the family to the court, without having first checked
the letter. His sister said
that in their hearts the family knew he was not guilty and that he had been
wrongly convicted. ``The justice
system has failed us and now an innocent man is serving a prison term for a
crime he did not commit,'' she said. Judge de Ridder
stopped the woman and told her it was not the appropriate forum for the
matters to be raised. |
