Far North man sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping and molesting girls

Written by: Shannon Pitman, Open Justice multimedia journalist, Whangārei

Whangarei courthouse, Whangarei Supreme Court, Whangarei District Court.

Alexander Wright, 61, appeared before the High Court at Whangārei District Court.
Photograph: RNZ/Peter de Graaf

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details of child abuse.

From the outside, the kind gesture of a man offering to support a mother by babysitting her children when things got too difficult seemed genuine.

However, even while his wife was sleeping in the next room, the man was taking advantage of the girls at every opportunity, without his mother’s knowledge.

Now Alexander Wright, 61, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison with a non-parole period of at least 10 years, and a judge has commented that his prospects of rehabilitation are slim, especially if he does not plead guilty.

The sentence was hailed by Child Matters director Jane Searle as a significant response to justice.

“The trauma and lifelong impact on the lives of the affected victims cannot be ignored.

“It’s important that the justice system responds appropriately because the impacts are far-reaching, not only for victims but also for society,” Searle told NZME.

At a jury trial in the High Court in Whangārei earlier this year, Wright was found guilty of 38 charges of sexual assault against three girls, all of whom were under 12 at the time.

The charges related to various violations, including eight rapes that occurred repeatedly.

Judge Michael Robinson said the victims were strong, brave and resilient young women with many years of potential ahead of them.

“I especially want to pay tribute and acknowledge their courage. Each of them continues to suffer for what you did to them, and each of them has a long road ahead of them.”

“I hope that, as they move forward, they can take solace in the fact that justice has been done because of their bravery,” Judge Robinson said.

For years, Wright offered to help the mother care for her children at her family’s home, sometimes overnight.

Almost immediately he began sexually abusing children.

During one of the girl’s first overnight visits, Wright sexually assaulted her in the lounge, and when she moved into a room to be closer to his wife to feel safe, he took her back to the lounge and raped her again. The next morning he raped her.

“It’s not clear whether your wife was aware of any of this going on,” Judge Robinson commented to the man as he took the stand at Whangārei High Court for sentencing on Friday. He had no support in court throughout the trial.

‘You hunted him’

The girl testified at trial that Wright constantly tried to touch her, both at her home and at her home, and even managed to get at her when she locked herself in the bathroom to get away from him.

By putting up with Wright’s behavior, the girl thought she was protecting her younger sisters from him, and was devastated to learn that they, too, had become victims of his predatory behavior.

“There was nothing he could do to protect them from you, you preyed on them just as you preyed on him, he is absolutely not responsible for your crime. The only person who is responsible is you,” Judge Robinson said.

Wright violently assaulted and raped another girl, while also repeatedly sexually assaulting another girl.

“He told you to stop, you told him not to tell you what to do and if he told anyone he couldn’t see what would happen,” Judge Robinson said.

‘How could you do this?’

One of the victims told the court her childhood was shattered and her innocence was taken away.

“I was told to keep my mouth shut, how can you do that to a mature 7 year old?

“Every man I looked at was a monster, every boy was a devil,” he said in court during the sentencing.

The victim said she was afraid she would be blamed if she told the truth and gave a message to her younger self.

“I wish I could hug that 7-year-old and tell him, ‘No more worries and no more monsters living in the house.'”

Judge Robinson criticized Wright’s repeated denials and found his offending serious and significant.

“You claim to be the victim of false allegations, but your victims had the courage to come forward.

“Instead of caring for them, you continually used and abused them for your own pleasure… they were defenseless children.”

Judge Robinson sentenced Wright to 20 years in prison, with a non-parole period of at least 10 years.

“If you continue to deny your guilt, you will serve your full sentence. If you continue to deny your guilt, no rehabilitation programs will be offered. Your prospects for rehabilitation appear slim.”

Wright was automatically added to the child sex offender registry.

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