Almost 50 years after the horrific offending which ruined the lives of two of his former pupils, ex-teacher and former Marist religious brother Charles Afeaki on Wednesday night began a jail term for those crimes.
Afeaki, now 82 years old, began a 25-month sentence for the sexual abuse he committed against two boys, then aged 11 and 12, while a teacher at Marist Brothers school, Invercargill, and St Paul’s College in Auckland between 1975 and 1979.
It’s his third sentence of imprisonment for sexual offending against his former pupils.
Despite Afeaki’s age and failing health, judge Kirsten Lummis told him there was no alternative to jail, because of the destructive impact he’d had on his victims’ lives.
One, Tane Davies*, had been forced to give evidence at trial because Afeaki originally pleaded not guilty, only to change his plea to guilty on the morning of the third day of evidence as the second victim, Robbie West* stood by to testify by videolink from a Christchurch courtroom.
“Your offending has had a devastating effect upon them,” judge Lummis told Afeaki. “It’s not often the court gets to see the full extent of harm to victims… but in this case it is laid out in detail in the victim impact statements before me”.