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Attempted murder of two Napier children in March 1997
Also assault of a policeman on the same day
Sexual violation (x8) of a Napier girl from when she was seven in 1987 until 1994
11 other prior convictions
.
.
none known
Born 1958
Corrections facility
Sentenced to just 6 years in October 1997
Sentenced to 14 years with a 9 year 4 month non-parole period in July 2007
Background
From the Fairfax Media 12th July 2007
A man's fear of being exposed for rampant sexual abuse of a young girl may have triggered a random attack in which he tried to kill two other innocent children in Napier 10 years ago. Charles Michael King, now 49, was in 1997 sentenced to six years' jail for attempting to murder the two children after storming their Napier home. Yesterday a possible explanation emerged in the High Court at Napier as King was sentenced to 14 years' jail for the sexual offending believed to have sparked the murder bid. The abuse of the young girl took place "hundreds ... possibly thousands" of times between 1987 and 1994, Justice Hugh Williams said.
The victim, well into her teens when she put a stop to it, spent years protecting other children from her abuser. She finally went to police this year, concerned that King's behaviour was a sign he could be about to resume his offending. Having endured at least four pregnancies and miscarriages during the abuse, she is now a mother with a partner and children, and read her own victim-impact statement.
Following a request to Justice Williams through defence counsel Jonathan Krebs, King was allowed to face the woman to apologise. Barely audible, her told her he was "deeply sorry". King disclosed the abuse in jail and sought inclusion in a specialist programme for sex offenders, but was denied because he had not been convicted of a sex offence. He pleaded guilty to eight charges of sexual violation representing what the judge called "sometimes daily" offending.
Justice Williams said expert opinion showed rejection by the victim, the realisation others knew and psychotic episodes amid drug and alcohol abuse could have sparked the daybreak attack, in which a half-naked King smashed through the front door of a woman's home and attacked her children as they tried to hide outside. King's sentence includes a minimum non-parole period of nine years and four months. Justice Williams said it was only by a fine margin that he decided against preventive detention for King, whose 11 previous convictions did not include sexual offences. Crown prosecutor Jo Reilly sought a starting point of 17-18 years.
From a Dominion story 18th October 1997
A MAN convicted of attempting to murder two children was sentenced to six years in prison yesterday when he appeared in the High Court at Napier. Last week a jury found Michael Charles King, 40, guilty on two charges ofattempted murder and one of assaulting a police officer on March 6. The charges resulted from an incident in which King chased two children at their home and hit them over the head with a bottle. King had pleaded not guilty and claimed he was legally insane at the time. Defence counsel Russell Fairbrother said King was appalled at what he had done and had wanted to plead guilty but chose not to because of the opinion of the psychiatrist. He had no idea what he was doing or where he was.
The trial was to determine if King had a disease of the mind, which was rejected, though psychiatrists who gave evidence agreed he had suffered a psychotic episode on March 6. On that day King had consumed a small amount of cannabis and was suffering a form of mental breakdown. Appearing for the Crown, Graham Lang said though the children were not seriously injured their emotional wellbeing and that of their mother had been "tragically affected". The jury had accepted that King was suffering from a psychotic episode but also accepted it was substance-induced. Justice Neazor sentenced King to six years' imprisonment on both attempted murder charges and one year's imprisonment on the assault charge, to be served concurrently
From a Dominion story 8th March 1997
A HAWKE'S BAY man already facing a charge of attempted murder of a six-year-old Napier girl is to face a charge of attempting to murder her five-year-old brother when he appears in Napier District Court on March 25. Michael Charles King, 39, of Clive, midway between Hastings and Napier, will also face charges of aggravated burglary and assaulting police after an incident at a Napier house on Thursday where two children were attacked in their backyard. King was remanded in custody for psychiatric examination when he appeared in Napier District Court on Thursday. Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Gregory of Napier said that police laid the second charge of attempted murder, the burglary and the assault charges yesterday.