Dunedin man jailed for sexually abusing his brother

A Dunedin man has been jailed for more than eight years for sexually abusing his brother, once only metres away from a family grave.

The 37-year-old man, whose name remains suppressed, appeared in the Dunedin District Court last week, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with: "I identify as not guilty."

Judge Michael Turner immediately ordered the man to leave the courtroom and turn the garment inside out.

Last month, a jury found the defendant guilty of 21 charges of sexually abusing his brother — the violations included rape and persisted over a six-year period.

The abuse followed the victim through three Otago towns beginning when the defendant was 14 years old and his brother was only 4. The 10-year age gap was seen as a highly aggravating factor, as the victim was "a child with no concept of sexual matters", the court heard.

Regular visits to his family home allowed the defendant to prey on his younger sibling, leading the impressionable child to become confused.

"He thought you and he were in some sort of relationship," Judge Turner said.

As the abuse continued, he realised the behaviour was not normal.

When he tried to tell his mother, the defendant intervened, the court was told.

"You threatened to give him a hiding ... You secured his silence," the judge said.

Many of the violations occurred in the victim’s bedroom, bathroom, lounge and even a cupboard under the stairs.

The victim provided a statement to the court in which he described the crimes committed against him as "cold, premeditated and evil".

"I was a small, innocent child and you stole that from me," he said.

"I grew up with a dark secret ... Deep inside I just wanted to scream to let the pain and sadness out of me."

Judge Turner said the close proximity of other family members did not appear to deter the "gross abuse" that strayed from the home environment into public playgrounds and even more sinister places.

On one occasion, the duo were visiting a relative’s grave with family members.

When the adults wandered away to another area, the defendant led his brother to a bush a short distance away from the grave and forced the child to perform a sex act.

Throughout the trial, details of the family’s "severe dysfunction" were shared with the jury.

The defendant cycled through a number of foster placements and was exposed to a range of abuse while maintaining regular contact with his family.

"We know that those kind of things happened in state care a significant amount ... [The defendant] has conveyed a sense of abandonment," Counsel Andrew Dawson said.

While Judge Turner acknowledged the man’s harmful experiences in foster care had shaped his life, he struggled to look past the severe nature of the crimes.

"You are expected to look after your brother, not sexually abuse him," the judge said.

"The impact of this offending is profound ... the number of acts, the period of offending, the victim’s age. Tremendous harm has been caused here.

"You knew what you were doing. You knew it was wrong. You did that to meet your own sexual needs."

The man was sentenced to eight and a-half years’ imprisonment and he will automatically be added to the Child Sex Offender Register.

 

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