A man who indecently assaulted elderly women while working at Redwood Retirement Village in Blenheim was sent to jail yesterday.
David Eric Neal, 55, a former care worker, was sentenced on six charges of indecent assault in Blenheim District Court to two years and four months jail.
Judge Bruce Davidson said Neal's five female victims were aged between 58 and 96 and the offending, which included touching their breasts and genital area, happened repeatedly between February 2009 and March this year, he said.
The victims were unable to resist Neal "in any realistic way" because their mobility was restricted or they were restrained in some way, he said.
One of the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, chose to read her victim impact statement to the court.
She said she had just started to trust men again after previously being a victim of sexual abuse.
"David undid it in minutes," she said. "The scars that David's actions placed in my brain cannot be erased – they are there for good."
Judge Davidson said Neal tried to innocently explain his actions when approached by his employer, but when a police investigation was launched he admitted he had a fascination with the breasts of elderly females.
Neal committed a wholesale breach of the trust that was inherent in health care workers as well as in the health care sector.
Neal had been "dangerously close" to facing more serious charges of sexual violation, Judge Davidson said. Neal initially faced nine charges of sexual violation and sexual assault, but some were dropped and the rest downgraded to indecent assault.
Crown prosecutor Hugh Boyd-Wilson said Neal's offending was repeated over a prolonged period.
The offending progressed from touching the victims' breasts to touching the genital area of three of his five victims, he said.
Neal had previous convictions, but none of a similar nature to this offending, he said.
Defence counsel Rob Harrison said Neal had no explanation for what had happened.
Neal had taken time off work and was referred to a doctor for depression before the complaints were laid, he said.
"He had a feeling things weren't right for him and he didn't take the next step to tell the authorities," he said.
"He's done nothing like this in his life, which indicates something has happened to bring about the offending."
Mr Harrison asked Judge Davidson for an adjournment to explore options for community or home detention, but the request was denied because no suitable address could be found.
Oceania Group chief executive Geoff Hipkins said he felt two years four months was a minimal sentence. Oceania is the owner of Redwood Retirement Village.
By SIMON WONG - The Marlborough Express
No comments:
Post a Comment