Retired man jailed for indecent assault of granddaughter, 7

An Invercargill man who indecently assaulted two half-sisters 47 years ago has been sentenced for the same crime against his seven-year-old granddaughter.

The 71-year-old retired man, granted final name suppression, appeared before Judge Kevin Phillips in the Invercargill District Court yesterday for sentence on one representative charge of indecently assaulting a child between January 1 and September 10.

Judge Phillips sentenced the man to nine months' jail.

Judge Phillips said the man put his arms around his granddaughter, kissed her mouth and inserted his tongue for more than a minute.

The offending was made worse by the poor health of the girl, the court was told.

"Because of the hard work on her part, she reached milestones as they came up. She's feisty and determined," he said.

"This (crime) will stay with her as she grows, which makes your offending more heinous."

Judge Phillips said the granddaughter no longer felt safe in her home and blamed herself for some family members severing ties with the man. The man failed to understand the seriousness of what he had done, Judge Phillips said.

"You continue to be in denial. You deny this was because of sexual thoughts and you told the pre-sentence report writer that this was no big deal."

The man was also convicted in 1997 for indecent assaults against two half-sisters, which took place between 1962 and 1968, when the man was in his teens, Judge Phillips said.

However, he did not take that into account when deciding his sentence, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News