A Taranaki man tried on 40 sex charges committed over almost 20 years has been found guilty of 33 of the offences.
Nigel Allan Hauauru Nelson has been found guilty of 33 sex offences in a trial in the High Court in New Plymouth. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Nigel Allan Hauauru Nelson, 33, was accused of rape, unlawful sexual connection, indecent assault, and sexual exploitation of a person under 18.
The offending occurred between 1996 and 2015 across Waikato, King Country and Taranaki, and involved 15 vulnerable males.
Many of the young men had been lured into sex acts with promises of money from a non-existent prostitution and pornography business.
In the High Court in New Plymouth today, Justice Wylie said the case hung on the credibility and reliability of witnesses and in general he preferred the evidence of the complainants.
He issued a first-strike warning, telling Nelson he faced a potential sentence of preventive detention.
Nelson originally faced 51 charges. He pleaded guilty to two charges, against a teenage girl dating back to the 1990s in Otorohanga, and defended the remainder, nine of which were dropped during the trial.
Nelson was remanded for sentencing on 2 November.
Detective Sergeant Brad Pollock Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Earlier complaints
Nelson had been the subject of five earlier complaints to the police - the first in 1996 when he was a teenager.
Speaking after the verdict was announced, Detective Sergeant Brad Pollock said it was hard to say what had gone wrong following the previous complaints.
"All I can say is that police takes these matters very seriously these days, and there are a number of checks in place to ensure that when a complainant of this nature comes forward the matter is vigorously investigated," he said.
