escalating violence in our community Become a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Mouseover links for full page descriptions

Offender Databases James Burrows

James Edward Burrows

Alias

.

Offences

Indecent assault (x3) and inducing an indecent act (x2) on a Bishopdale, Christchurch girl over six years from when she was nine

Victims

.

Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1956

Current Location

unknown

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to two years in September 2006
Was given leave to apply for home detention which was turned down by the Parole Board on the grounds that he was an untreated sex offender

Background
From Christchurch Press story 26th September 2006
The mother of a young girl whose father had just died of cancer allowed her new partner, a businessman, to sexually exploit her daughter for six years. In the Christchurch District court yesterday, the businessman, who cannot be named, was jailed for two years after being found guilty of indecently assaulting a girl under 12, two of indecently assaulting a girl aged 12 to 16 and two of inducing an indecent act.

All but one of the charges were representative, the offences occurring between 1981 and 1987. In an emotional reading of her victim impact statement, the victim, now 34 and a self-employed businesswoman, told the court the accused was her mother's de facto partner of 26 years.

Her father died of cancer when she was nine, and the businessman moved in four months later. The abuse continued until she left home at 16 to escape it.

"I was robbed of my innocence and childhood, especially my teenage years," she said. She was plagued by the question of why her mother failed to help her, and their relationship had since broken down. "My mother was aware of the abuse but did not stop it. I had to leave my younger brother in an unsafe environment," she said.

She needed medication for anxiety, depression and insomnia, faced costly medical bills and suffered from flashbacks. "I will never understand why no-one, especially my mother, tried to stop the abuse, especially when I was crying out for help," she said.

Prosecutor Diedre Orchard said the Court of appeal made it clear that sexaul offending against children almost inevitably meant jail. The abuse of trust was gross, given the accused's status as stepfather, and the offending occurred over years. There were no guilty pleas to mitigate the sentence, and the historical nature did not make any difference. A starting point should be five to six years.

---

Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

Back to Top