A Dunedin sex offender described by his victims as an ‘‘evil predator’’ and a ‘‘creep’’ has been locked up.
Tafuna Elisara, 68, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after a jury found him guilty of three charges of indecent assault on a girl aged 12 to 16 and two charges of indecent assault on a girl under 12.
The court heard that between 1980 and 1982 Elisara indecently touched and kissed one of the girls and had groped them both while they slept.
Yesterday, more than 40 years after the offending, the two women told the court how the assaults had burdened them.
‘‘I still smell the beer and still feel the dribbling all over my face,’’ one victim said.
‘‘I wake up crying, even praying to God to stop the pain.’’
She had experienced significant mental health struggles over the years and struggled to understand how Elisara could ‘‘destroy’’ a vulnerable child.
‘‘You are an evil predator who abused and took away a child’s innocence,’’ she said.
‘‘I am broken and I’m scared to be a normal human being without the torture of you in my head and thinking I’m being followed and watched.’’
The other victim described the effects of Elisara’s indecency as ‘‘horrific’’.
‘‘I felt hunted by a creep who terrified me for years, and afterwards I blamed myself,’’ she said.
‘‘The impact you have had on my life has been devastating.’’
She described feelings of ‘‘filth and shame’’ but hoped the court process would bring her closure.
‘‘I am finally being heard. The court is hearing me, society is hearing me,’’ she said.
‘‘You are not a man, you are a paedophile, a child molester and a bully.’’
Judge Duncan Harvey noted Elisara continued to deny responsibility for the crimes, saying he was ‘‘not sick in the head’’.
The judge acknowledged a letter of support from Elisara’s pastor which outlined the defendant’s involvement in the church as well as his reliability and integrity.
Judge Harvey highlighted the harm caused to the victims, who were ‘‘inherently vulnerable’’ at the time.
The defendant had other criminal convictions and was assessed as being at a moderate risk of reoffending, the court heard.
Judge Harvey sentenced Elisara to two years and seven months’ imprisonment.
Because of his sentence, he was automatically placed on the child sex offender register.
