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Offender Databases Thomas Robertson

Thomas Ranson Robertson

Alias

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Offences

Rape, sexual violation (x3) and indecent assault (x4) on a 12 year old Otautau girl between May 1996 and November 1999

Victims

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Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1944

Current Location

At large

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to eleven years in April 1999
Reduced to ten years in October 1999
To be updated

Background
From a Southland Times story 09/04/1999
An Otautau man, who conditioned a girl to be his "sexual plaything," was sentenced to 11 years' jail by Judge Phil Moran in the Invercargill District Court on Thursday. Thomas Ranson Robertson, 55, unemployed, was found guilty by a jury last month of rape and three counts of sexual violation. During the trial he also admitted four charges of indecent assault. The offences happened between May 1996 and November last year. The victim was a girl aged between 12 and 15 during the period. Defence counsel Nic Soper said Robertson was not a perverted monster nor an inherently evil man.

He had been highly regarded in the community and held numerous positions of responsibility. But he was selfish and had acted foolishly, Mr Soper said. Robertson had a genuine affection for the victim and apologised to her and her family. No force or coercion were used to get the girl to participate in the sex acts. It was unlawful but consensual sex in Robertson's view, he said. Crown prosecutor Russell Ibbotson said Robertson still placed a high proportion of the blame on the victim and felt she had initiated the sexual activities. But the girl was too young to understand and to be blamed, he said.

Judge Moran said the abuse began with fondling but later extended to finger penetration of her vagina, oral sex and rape. The girl trusted Robertson and became conditioned to comply without protest. It was a gross abuse of trust, he said. "You conditioned her to become your sexual plaything for two and a half years. You robbed her of her childhood . . . she feels ashamed, scared and angry," Judge Moran told Robertson. The offences happened at Robertson's home, the girl's house, the Longwoods Forest and the Otautau Cemetery

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Corrections and Additional Information
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