The mother of a boy who groomed for sexual purposes is warning parents to be vigilant about what their children are doing.
The Rotorua woman, who can't be identified, said that if she had not intervened when she thought something was happening to her 14-year-old son, he might have been sexually assaulted by the bus driver who drove him to and from another North Island town.
She made the comment outside Rotorua District Court yesterday after 58-year-old Rotorua bus driver Donald Peter McPherson was jailed for 15 months.
Outside court, the victim's mother said she was relieved he was being jailed but said her son was receiving a lot of counselling.
McPherson had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of communicating with the boy between May 14 and 25 with the intention to meet him and commit what would be an offence.
The police summary of facts said McPherson befriended the boy. They then exchanged cellphone numbers and began texting frequently.
On May 18, McPherson told the boy to tell his mother the bus was delayed. They agreed to have a sexual encounter at the back of the bus when it got to Rotorua.
After becoming concerned, his mother went to the bus stop. She found them alone on the bus parked on a darkened street, where they had been for about 13 minutes.
The boy later told police he and McPherson had intended to carry out a sexual act but his mother had arrived before that could happen.
The sexual texting continued after this incident and when the boy's mother removed his phone McPherson gave the boy a new one with a camera so he could take photos.
Police said there were further attempts to meet up.
The boy's mother told the court McPherson had destroyed her son's innocence.
"Don has polluted [my son] to the point where his boundaries are blurred. Don has normalised a behaviour that is not normal."
The victim's mother said McPherson had manipulated her son to deceive her.
She said the texts had distracted her son from his school work and the incident had affected his relationships.
McPherson's lawyer Annette Sykes McPherson had only this year got a cellphone capable of sending text messages.
"He is still naive in understanding the nature of sexting. Counselling is fundamental," Ms Sykes said.
Judge Phillip Cooper said McPherson was "completely deluded" as he had tried to shift responsibility to the victim and had said the text messages involved him giving advice on sexual matters.
- Abigail Hartevelt, Daily Post
