The man, aged in his 60s, was also granted permanent name suppression when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
The unusual result was primarily because the sexual assaults occurred more than 50 years ago, when the defendant was 15 or 16.
Judge David Robinson said he was compelled to consider the Oranga Tamariki Act, which dictated if the time between the crime and the hearing was ‘‘unnecessarily or unduly protracted’’ a charge could be dismissed.
The judge noted the defendant had no convictions, which showed he was ‘‘fully rehabilitated’’.
He accepted the outcome would not please the victims, but hoped the fact the man had admitted the offences, and their voices had been heard by the court, would provide some comfort and closure.
The court heard the prosecution might never have come about had it not been for the defendant’s actions in 2023.
Suffering ill health, he contacted the father of the victims.
‘‘I’m not doing that well at the moment,’’ he began.
‘‘I’m very sorry and I felt awful ever since.’’
The man stressed he wanted to apologise for his actions, which he knew would be hard for the victims, ‘‘but I don’t want to die with this feeling’’.
The father reportedly said the family wanted to leave the indiscretions in the past but, ultimately, a police complaint was made.
Court documents noted the defendant met the girls, who were 6 and 4 at the time, through their parents and connections to a church.
The name of the religious institution and the location cannot be named, to ensure the identities of the victims are protected.
A Crown summary described how the defendant would isolate the girls and molest them.
On one occasion, he enticed a girl into his bedroom to commit the illicit acts and she described to police the pain he caused as ‘‘sharp, bruising and burning’’.
‘‘During further interactions with the defendant, she made efforts to be around adults at all times,’’ the summary stated.
The father of the victims confronted the defendant after hearing what had happened.
‘‘He explained to the defendant that it was wrong and that it must stop,’’ the court heard.
The defendant acknowledged what he had done and there was no repeat.
Judge Robinson said the offending was related to the teenager’s ‘‘developmental stage’’ at the time and the environment in which he grew up, as well as his ‘‘curiosity and naivety about girls’’.
While the delay in the case coming to court was one of the factors in the defendant being discharged, the judge stressed there was to be no criticism of the victims.
