A man described as an "accomplished liar" protested his innocence today as he was sentenced to nearly seven years' jail for molesting two girls.
Last month the 72-year-old was found guilty in the High Court at Wellington of sexual violation and two counts of indecent assault.
His victims were a mentally disabled girl aged in her early teens and her sister, who was between nine and 10 at the time.
The man denied two representative charges of doing an indecent act and one of sexual violation by digital penetration in Wellington between 2005 and 2008.
The Crown said the man, a friend of the girls' family, picked them up from school on several occasions and drove to a quiet location to molest them.
He gave them money and treats in an attempt to keep them on side, said Crown Prosecutor Mark O'Donoghue.
Defence lawyer Noel Sainsbury argued the man had genuine affection for the girls and considered he was stepping in to look after them following their parents' separation.
At sentencing today Justice Warwick Gendall noted earlier prolific offending by the man.
He had racked up 177 convictions between 1955 and 2008 - 125 of which were fraud related.
"(At an earlier sentencing) the Crown said you were an 'accomplished liar'," Justice Gendall said.
The number of fraud convictions showed an ability to be able to deceive a family who regarded him as an "uncle" or "grandfatherly" figure, he said.
He had left both girls "confused and one sad", Justice Gendall said.
"Neither child knew what was happening to the other."
Aggravating factors in sentencing were the harm caused to the girls and their family, his gross abuse of the family's trust, the repetitive offending, the vulnerability of the girls and that the offending was premeditated.
The only mitigating circumstance was his age, Justice Gendall said.
He sentenced him to six years and nine months for the sexual violation charge and two years each for the indecent assault charges, to be served concurrently.
The man at first refused to leave the court room after sentencing, but as he was leaving called out "I'm not guilty".
