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Newsroom.co.nz
National
Sharon Brettkelly

Behind the story: The town that backed a child sex abuser

Photo: RNZ/Vinay Ranchhod

RNZ's executive editor of longform journalism Veronica Schmidt talks to The Detail about the wider issues raised by her recent investigation into a volunteer firefighter who sexually abused his young son - and the boy's mother's fight to be believed. 

Veronica Schmidt thought she was onto a one-in-a-million story - a town that turned on a mother and her child when the father was accused of sexual abuse.

But what she discovered was that this was far from uncommon. 

The man, Richard*, faced six charges of indecent assault on a child under 12 and one of assault on a child. 

At trial, he was found guilty of a representative charge of indecent assault and not guilty of the others. He was sentenced to 10 months' home detention. 

He ended up taking his case to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court but failed both times. 

Schmidt says from the moment the mother, Rachel*, came to her, she knew it was a story that had to be told. 

"Not just the court case, it was that there were so many other things involved in this.  

"The town had turned against this child and his mother, and Fire and Emergency [Richard was a volunteer firefighter] had a very dubious response to him being charged and even convicted." 

Fire and Emergency has had problems in the past, with victims or complainants saying their allegations of sexual assault were not taken seriously by the organisation, Schmidt says. 

That part of the story was familiar, but to find so many people in a small town had turned against Rachel and sided with Richard was "unbelievable", she says. 

"When I first heard this story, and before I started doing a lot of reading about child abuse and about child abuse trials, I thought this was a really rare, bizarre story - a whole town or lots of people in the town turning on a child and their mother and rallying around the abuser." 

Schmidt double-sourced every fact, but she discovered from research and from talking to experts that "this happens all the time". 

Coupled with that, statistics show only about 10 in every 100 sexual abuse crimes are reported to the police. Of those, about three get to court and just one is likely to result in a conviction. 

"It is incredibly rare to make a complaint, get through all the scrutiny of the investigation and then to get a guilty verdict," Schmidt says. 

* Names have been changed to protect the child's identity

Where to get help:

Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason

Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357

Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO (24/7). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends

Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (24/7) or text 4202

Samaritans: 0800 726 666 (24/7)

Youthline: 0800 376 633 (24/7) or free text 234 (8am-12am), or email talk@youthline.co.nz

What's Up: online chat (3pm-10pm) or 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787 helpline (12pm-10pm weekdays, 3pm-11pm weekends)

Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm or text 832 Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and English

Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254

Sexual Violence

NZ Police

Victim Support 0800 842 846

Rape Prevention Education

Empowerment Trust

HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - then press 0

Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and those with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800 044 334

Male Survivors Aotearoa

Family Violence

Women's Refuge: 0800 733 843

It's Not OK 0800 456 450

Shine: 0508 744 633

Victims Information

The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies

Abuse survivors

For male survivors -

Road Forward Trust, Wellington, contact Richard 021 118 1043

Better Blokes Auckland, 09 990 2553

The Canterbury Men's Centre, 03 377 6747

The Male Room, Nelson 03 548 0403

Male Survivors, Waikato 07 858 4112

Male Survivors, Otago 021 106 4598

For female survivors -

HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - then press 0

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