Why did a family wait years to see the man who traumatised their son sentenced?

Court delays combined with "lack of empathy" by the police, frustrated the parents of 'Hunter' who was 10 when his world was shattered. The man responsible has now been sentenced for crimes against children – and Hunter is a teenager. Jessica Roden reports.

*Trigger warning: this story contains details about child abuse that may be disturbing. Names have been changed.

"I’m just not thinking about it,” Carol says over the phone the day before she and he husband will head to court.

Her avoidance is understandable. The man who masturbated in front of her son while he was getting changed in a public facility, will finally be sentenced. It's a day any parent would dread.

And yet it's a day for which this family has waited two and a half years. That’s how long it’s taken for the case involving the indecent act – as well as the covert photography of children and possession of pedophilic pornography – to reach its conclusion.

After countless court appearances, in the end there was no trial.

While authorities argue the case was complicated and various post-Covid delays are in part to blame, it's an excuse that holds little weight with Carol.

Hunter was 10 years old and loved going to the public recreation facility he now avoids. In November 2021 his dad was sitting outside waiting while he got changed.

The room was empty apart from Hunter, his friend and a man. The man was naked when he took soap and applied it to his whole body. He then masturbated for several minutes while the children finished getting dressed.

Carol says her son was so young he didn't even know what happening. “Hunter didn’t even know what masturbating was, he thought [the man] was just putting cream on."

Her son's friend did understand though and told his parents who shared the information with Hunter's parents. Both families then went to police. They described the man and Carol says she was told by officers: “We know who he is, he’s known for this sort of behaviour”.

What the family didn't know was that this incident was part of a pattern of concerning, escalating behaviour by the man in the three years prior. Behaviour that included covertly photographing naked children at similar facilities and exposing his erect penis to children.

They also didn't know it would be the start of the unravelling of their faith in the justice system.

The delays in the court system in recent years have been well traversed. But experiencing them as a result of a crime affecting your vulnerable child, has been agonising for Carol. “We definitely thought it would be a lot faster than what it was. We didn’t expect him to plead not guilty, which is stupid maybe."

The defendant was charged with an indecent act and in early 2022 opted for a jury trial. But it would take more than two years for a trial date to be set. By then the defendant had changed his plea to guilty and a trial wasn't required at all.

Carol still doesn't understand the delays. Twice in 2022 and 2023 trial dates were offered but for various reasons weren't agreed on. “I have asked and asked and asked and not been given any answer apart from Covid. They tell me it’s normal and then they tell me it’s not normal”.

As well as court delays, Carol says the way victims are dealt with is problematic. From the start she didn't feel like police were treating the offending seriously enough.

“I do feel that they have minimised it and they don’t understand".

Despite his age Hunter wasn't allowed a parent in the room when he was interviewed and videoed by police. Police say this is best practice to avoid contaminating evidence.

His parents still don't know what he was asked or what he said in reply.

“I just feel so completely let down by the police,” says Carol. “I think their empathy for the victim is nothing”.

Despite the defendant being trespassed from the facility while on bail, Carol noticed that, as the case dragged on, the notice regarding this wasn’t maintained. So while the man still technically wouldn't have been allowed there, his picture was no longer up so staff wouldn't have known to stop him from entering.

This was significant for Carol whose son was terrified of running into this man again. She says it should have been up to police, not her, to check. Police say such notices are in place for two years and it’s up to facilities to maintain them.

Carol says she was regularly updated on the case but the information was confusing. Often using abbreviations she didn't know.

She says police informed her that if she and her family pulled out of the case they could be liable for the defendant's legal costs. After 1News asked police about this last year they said this was a "misunderstanding".

Hunter’s ongoing fear of seeing this man or the man seeing him has caused considerable strain.

“If anybody has been a victim, especially a crime of a sexual nature, that [the perpetrator] can see them again just feels so, so, so so wrong.”

While preparing Hunter for the fact that he would have to give evidence in court, his parents say they received conflicting information: first they were told he could give evidence in a different room, but that the defendant would not be able to see him. Then they were told it's possible the defendant would be able to see him.

“So I still don’t really know what the answer is to that,” says Carol who’s in no doubt about how she feels it should be. “They should not be able to see the victim again”.

Hunter is now 13 years old. He has a very different understanding of what happened to him than he did at age 10.

“He started off as a child, and then a pre-teen and now he’s a teenager. And it’s going to be a quarter of his life this has been going on for,” says Carol.

As the case has dragged on Hunter has yo-yoed between wanting to know what's happening and not. Initially he asked to be kept up to date, then for months at a time he didn't want to know.

He's been very angry. He's felt that he wasn't believed. He has gone back to the place where the offending happened a few times but now tries to avoid it.

“He said to me every time I’m at that [place] I can’t stop thinking about it”.

Carol says that while she is pleased it will soon be over, she doesn't know how Hunter feels. While he does share a lot with his mum, he avoids talking about this.

“I feel like he’s probably better about it now… but I’m not sure actually”. Hunter chose not to go to the sentencing or know any more about the case.

On Friday May 3 the full details of the defendant's offending became clear. Carol had known there were other charges but didn't know the details of them.

While the man had initially pled not guilty to the offending in regards to her son, his plea change was made earlier this year after further charges were added.

He was sentenced to four years in prison for four counts of an indecent act (these included the masterbation incident, as well as two incidents relating to photographing children in public places, and one exposing his naked body to children) and one for possession of objectionable material.

Crown prosecutor Jeremy Cameron described his offences as “a terrifying escalation of behaviour”.

“He has preyed on the weakest and vulnerable members of society and he has done so while unsupervised and undressed."

Carol stood beside her husband as he detailed the impact the man's actions have had on their son, who no longer felt safe walking to school. "The behaviour displayed by [the defendant] has affected our son in such a profound way that it is difficult to convey to this court just how damaging it has been".

Carol was shaking her head in the back of the courtroom as details of the pedophilic material discovered on the defendant's computer were revealed.

The defendant's lawyer Steven Zindel argued his client's Asperger's syndrome and previous good character should be taken into account by the court.

Nelson District Court Judge Tony Zohrab was critical of the defendant's decision to plead guilty after two years of denying the offending.

“It could have all been brought to a head much quicker than it was and we’ve heard how hard it was for the victim, especially a youngster."

In a statement, Detective Inspector Lex Bruning said police take this type of offending very seriously but admitted some advice they gave the family was wrong.

"I know this will have been a very difficult and challenging time for the victim and their family, and we have worked to support them throughout the prosecution process."

Bruning said incorrect advice was initially given to Carol's family regarding whether the defendant would be able to see the victim's video evidence. While they were told he wouldn’t be able to see Hunter, actually there was a chance he could.

"This was an unfortunate error by an inexperienced officer and was corrected prior to the trial commencing. I apologise for any additional distress this incorrect initial advice caused and acknowledge that we could have communicated more effectively with the family."

He reiterated that the comment made about Carol's family being liable for the defendant's legal costs was a miscommunication.

Last year Chief District Court judge Heemi Taumaunu told 1News in a statement, “there are complex reasons” for the time it has taken to bring the case to trial.

When contacted this week the Ministry of Justice said it cannot comment on individual cases as it would compromise the court’s independence. It said there’s a range of reasons why cases are delayed including: counsel not being ready, late guilty pleas, pretrial applications and finding a suitable date, amongst others.

The ministry went on to say there are measures in place to protect victims while giving evidence, but ultimately how a hearing is conducted is up to the judge; meaning if it had gone to trial it would have been up to the judge whether Hunter could have been seen by the defendant.

While the details revealed about her son’s abuser in court were confronting, Carol said it did bring some closure.

“I didn’t realise there was so many other charges, I didn’t know about them."

She’s still confused about the sequence of events and the delays, but says she was pleased to be there, particularly to hear the comments from Judge Zohrab.

Carol describes a sense that the judge treated the case with a gravity that until that point had seemed lacking by authorities.

While she doesn’t think she will ever forget about the experience, she says Judge Zohrab’s treatment of the victims went some way to restoring her faith in the justice system. "I was very happy with the way he questioned them and his empathy."