For about four decades a South Island predator carried out the most horrific offending against those close to him, including raping his daughter, step-granddaughter, sisters, and former partners. RNZ's national crime correspondent Sam Sherwood reports.
By Sam Sherwood of RNZ
Warning: This story discusses details of long-term sexual and physical abuse.
Standing inside the dock at the High Court, the man stood quietly in his prison clothes as his lawyer formalised the guilty pleas and discussed arrangements for sentencing.
There was no mention in the brief hearing of the extent of his offending before he walked back out of the dock to be sent back to prison where he will stay until he is sentenced later this year.
Inside a court document released to RNZ is the full story of the man's offending, detailing 20 charges he has pleaded guilty to, with offending that began in the 1980s through to the 2020s.
It includes eight charges of sexual violation by rape (seven of which are representative), a representative charge of rape, and eight charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection (six of which are representative).
He also pleaded guilty to a representative charge of making objectionable material, a representative charge of doing an indecent act on a young person and one charge of wounding with intent to injure.
His offending includes raping his daughter, his step-granddaughter, two of his sisters, and two ex-partners. He also committed indecent acts on a distant relative.
The man now in his 50s has interim name suppression. RNZ is not reporting the locations of his offending or the court in which he is being sentenced, to avoid the victims being identified.
Twenty years of violence
The court document begins by discussing the man's offending against an ex-partner who he began dating in the early 1990s when she was 17. It did not take long before he became violent, "physically, emotionally and sexually".
The woman, who had four children with the man, left in about 2015.
"During the relationship, which lasted around 20 years, the defendant offered violence towards the victim by hitting, pushing, and kicking her. On one occasion he smacked her in the face over making a coffee."
In one incident, while pregnant with her first child, the man punched her in the eye and kicked her in the stomach, telling her he hoped her baby died.
The woman thought she was going die during one assault when he put his hands around around her neck, squeezing so it was difficult for her to breathe.
The summary of facts says by the mid 2000s the man raped her multiple times.
The man also pleaded guilty to a representative charge of sexual violation by rape in relation to another former partner.
The woman was 15 when she began a sexual relationship in 1990 with the man, who was then 21.
"The victim recalls feeling controlled by the defendant. She recalls the defendant being a jealous person. He didn't like her joking or laughing with anyone of the opposite sex.
The summary of facts refers to three occasions where the man raped her.
The relationship ended when she turned 16.
Man raped daughter 'whenever he had the opportunity'
The man also offended against one of his children.
The summary of facts says his daughter lived with him in several different houses from when she was born until she was about 16 and left home.
The offending started in about 2006/2007 when she was five and lasted until she was 15.
"While [she] was around 5 to 6 years old, she recalls her father raping her whenever he had the opportunity."
After the first attack he told her what happened was "secret between them, and she wasn't allowed to tell her mother".
The court document refers to one incident when her father was driving down a gravel road.
"Knowing what was going to happen, she jumped out of the car and ran off. He then drove away leaving her there frightened in the pitch black."
The man started letting his daughter go out drinking alcohol with friends between the ages of 13-15.
"She recalls getting home drunk on several occasions, where he would proceed to rape her while she was intoxicated. [She] described him as thriving off any situation she was intoxicated."
In the early 2020s, the man also offended against his step granddaughter.
The girl was two when her mother began dating the man's son.
The relationship lasted about five years before she and her mother moved to another city.
Since then, the girl travelled once a month to stay with her stepfather and the man who lived in the same house.
She would often sleep in the man's bedroom, which had a second mattress prepared.
When the girl was aged between 6 and 8, he raped her for the first time. He also took multiple photos of the victim being raped as well as other photos of her.
'Disgusting creep'
The man also raped two of his sisters.
One of his sisters recalled living with the family at a property when she was about 13 in the 80s.
"It was here the defendant carried out the sexual activities he wanted with her on a frequent basis until she was around 18 years old."
He started assaulting another sister when she was about 11 up until she was 17.
"The victim recalls the defendant often saying disgusting comments to her including 'old enough to bleed, old enough to butcher'."
When the victim, then in her mid 20s, was about eight months pregnant with her first daughter, the man drove her to deliver something [firewood] after a family gathering. The woman reluctantly went with him after her father insisted.
On their way, he took her to an area he had previously raped her when she was a child and asked to have sex with her.
"The victim told him to 'f.. off' and that he was a 'disgusting creep'. The defendant replied that 'the other girls still let me do it'."
She again told him to "f... off" and said he was "sick in the head".
"To which the defendant replied 'I know I am' while smiling."
The man also admitted a representative charge of indecent act on a young person under 16 in relation to a distant relative.
In response to questions from RNZ, police confirmed the investigation into the man began following an in-person report on 18 January 2024.
"The defendant was arrested and charged with sexual violation offences related to that report on 7 May 2024.
"Further investigations uncovered additional victims and resulted in 94 charges laid in total."
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