10 Oct 2014

Man jailed for abusing granddaughter

12:16 pm on 10 October 2014

A man found guilty of repeated sexual offending against his granddaughter has been jailed for 14 years and ordered to spend at least seven and a half years of that behind bars.

The 66-year-old, whose name is suppressed to protect his victim, was sentenced in the High Court at Wellington on 15 charges.

The man sexually molested his granddaughter for 4 years, with the offending starting as she was nearing the end of primary school.

He had earlier been jailed for five years for similar offending against his own daughter 30 years ago.

Justice Collins said there were several aggravating features to the offending, including its duration, the fact it involved a vulnerable victim who was only 9 when the abuse began, and the significant breach of trust involved.

Justice Collins said he decided by a narrow margin not to impose an indefinite sentence of Preventive Detention on the man.