"I didn't put you in this position, you did."
Those were the words a woman spoke to the man who sexually abused her for 12 years ahead of him being sentenced in the Invercargill District Court yesterday on 12 historical charges including sexual violation and rape.
The woman, who was abused from the age of 4 to 16, said nobody knew how devastated and sad she felt inside.
However, she said she got no pleasure from seeing the man who abused her being sentenced in court.
"I still have empathy and compassion for your journey ahead."
The man who abused her, Peter Herrick (61), will spend at least four years of his eight years and three months sentence in jail.
The woman left the courtroom for a short time after facing Herrick while she read out her statement, clearly upset after describing the effect the offending had had on her life.
She described Herrick as a "master manipulator".
The offending had impacted on her relationships with both her husband and children and had led to substance abuse.
"Even the strongest substances would no longer numb or block the thoughts," she said.
"I had to take control back and not have this thing rid me of everything."
Taking Herrick to court was the only way she believed she could get control, she said.
Before sentencing began, Judge Russell Walker asked the victim if she would like to leave the court before he read out the acts Herrick had carried out on her.
She stayed.
Judge Walker said it was like Herrick had led a "double life" as references from his colleagues said he was honest, trustworthy and supportive.
The offending had graduated in severity during the 12 years, until the last incident when he raped the girl when she was 16 years old in 1996.
Herrick had systematically groomed the victim and used manipulation, coercion and fear to control her, the judge said.
Judge Walker gave a reduction in sentence as Herrick had also been abused as a child. He also gave reductions for early guilty plea and remorse, and the willingness to pay reparation.
However, the $5000 awarded to the victim for emotional harm was "very modest if not inadequate", Judge Walker said.
