Bruce Alexander Milne, 67, was jailed for two years four months last year by Judge Michael Turner after a jury at the Dunedin District Court found him guilty of four counts of indecency with a person under 16.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled the prison term was manifestly excessive and reduced the sentence to 18 months following a hearing in August.
Its written ruling was released last week and noted that Milne would be immediately released from jail because of the time he had spent behind bars.
There was controversy following last year’s sentencing after it was revealed one of the man’s references came from Waimate Mayor Craig Rowley.
The letter he had written was to thank Milne for his efforts in helping some tourists during flooding in 2021 and the mayor was shocked to hear his words had been used to support a convicted sex offender.
Milne’s first crimes came in 1980 and 1981 when the man was entrusted to babysit the 10-year-old boy in Dunedin. The court also heard there was an element of grooming in which he gave the victim cigarettes and alcohol.
The later offending took place in 1985 when the boy went to stay with him in Naseby over the holidays.
Milne gave no statement to police when the accusations were aired nearly 40 years later and did not give evidence at the trial.
His defence was run on the basis that the victim had fabricated the allegations, an assertion rejected by the jury.
Judith Ablett-Kerr KC argued the verdicts were not supported by the evidence and that the judge’s summing up was unfair.
While Justices Miller, Ellis and van Bohemen declined the appeal against Milne’s convictions they agreed the sentence was too harsh.
When measured against case law, the crimes warranted a lesser penalty, the court ruled.
Milne also deserved greater credit for his previous "good character", the judgement said.
Ten months was taken from Judge Turner’s original sentence.
At last year’s sentencing, the court heard the victim’s life had been plagued by clinical depression and PTSD.
"I’ll never know how different my life would’ve been and what I may have achieved if Bruce hadn’t offended against me in the way he did," he said in a statement.
rob.kidd@odt.co.nz , Court reporter
