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James Calder
.
Indecent assault on a child under twelve (x10) and forcing a child under twelve to do an indecent act, all committed on two Nelson girls one aged eight and one eleven over six years from 1973
.
.
none known
Born 1951
At large
Sentenced to 3 years 6 months in July 2007
Eligible for parole July 2008
Background
From the Nelson Mail 25th July 2007
A Nelson judge has sentenced a man to jail for sexual assaults on two young sisters more than 30 years ago. James Hamilton Calder, 56, of Auckland, was yesterday sentenced to three and-a-half years in prison for indecently assaulting the sisters, who were aged under 12 at the time. Calder was found guilty by a Blenheim jury last month of 10 charges of indecently assaulting a girl aged under 12 and one charge of inducing a girl aged under 12 to do an indecent act. He appeared for sentencing in the Nelson District Court.
Judge David McKegg said Calder's offending was a "considerable'' breach of the trust the victims' family placed in him. "You had become absorbed in a number of ways into the family structure.' One of the sisters was aged between 10 and 11 when the abuse occurred and the other was aged eight and nine. "You were then aged 22 or 23,'' Judge McKegg said.
"The abuse caused enduring indignity to both the complainants, one for about a year and one for about two years, and caused irreparable damage to the minds of both. "Both of these women have done their level best to get over the damage that you caused, but both bear the scars and will continue to for their lives.'' However, Judge McKegg said that since the abuse stopped, Calder had lived what was said to be a blame-free life and had a good reputation for the work he did.
Counsel Paul Borich said Calder had no previous convictions and had health problems. He maintained his innocence. He had obtained a passenger service licence and was a hard worker. "You can't get those if you are a person of bad character.'' Crown prosecutor Glen Marshall said Calder had been accepted as a member of the victims' family and had been entrusted to babysit the girls on some of the occasions he abused them. He had a lack of remorse and empathy, and the offending had a "profound'' impact on the victims.
The Marlborough Express Friday, 15th June 2007
A 56-year-old Auckland man was found guilty in the Blenheim District Court last night of 11 historic sexual offence charges against two sisters under 12. The jury, which retired before lunch, took eight and a half hours to reach the guilty verdicts for James Hamilton Calder, who had pleaded not guilty in the trial, lasting four days and presided over by Judge David McKegg.
Calder was found guilty of 10 charges of sexual offences against a girl under 12 and one charge of inducing a girl under 12 to commit an indecent act. He was found not guilty on two additional charges of sexual assault on a girl under 12. Following a legal argument at the end of the Crown case on Wednesday, the number of charges against Calder were reduced from 18 to 13. After the verdict he was remanded in custody to appear for sentencing on July 24 in Nelson.
The sisters had accused Calder of gross indecencies in the 1970s when he worked for their parents in Auckland and Marlborough. Prior to beginning deliberations the jury was told levels of credibility had to be carefully weighed. In their final addresses, crown prosecutor Glen Marshall and defence counsel Paul Borich both reminded jury members to carefully measure witnesses' reliability.
"You're better qualified than we lawyers," Mr Marshall said. "Every day you're assessing people as to their truthfulness ... the accused comes from the community of which you are a part. The witnesses come from the community of which you are a part." The two points of view were so different both could not be right, Mr Marshall said. "Somebody has stood in that witness box, looked you in the eyes and lied their head off."
He recalled the evidence given by a witness who had gone to school with the younger sister. The friends had had no contact with each other for about 30 years but she had never forgotten Calder's offensive language or the unwanted gropes he made for their bottoms and breasts. Any "warm fuzzies" jury members might feel towards the complainants must be fought, Mr Borich warned.
As Calder's final judges, they could not allow sympathy and prejudice to interfere with their assessment of the evidence. Witnesses' credibility and reliability had to be judged. The latter could be influenced by several things including the passage of time, age and general bias. The accused was not obliged to prove charges against him were false, Mr Borich said. He reminded the jury that any conviction of guilt must be "beyond all reasonable doubt".
The Marlborough Express Wednesday, 13th June 2007
The older of two sisters who allege a man working for their parents sexually assaulted them in the 1970s yesterday told the Blenheim District Court her recollections of the abuse. Sitting for the second day before Judge David McKegg and a jury, the court was hearing evidence against James Hamilton Calder, 56, from Auckland.
He denies 18 charges of historical sexual assault on two sisters under the age of 12. Offences against the eldest sister are said to have occurred between 1973 and 1974 when the family owned a motel business in Auckland, and those against the younger sister between 1978 and 1979 in Marlborough. A valued staff member, he occasionally baby-sat her and her sister, the woman said.
She claimed the sexual abuse started with an invitation to see some tropical fish in Calder's bedroom. He touched her indecently and told her he wanted to teach her about sex. "He said all the older girls were doing it, that my mother was doing it and that eventually I would come to like what he was doing," she said. He never hurt her physically, she said, but the offences included oral sex.
In 1978 the family moved to Marlborough where it is alleged Calder inflicted similar offences over the next two years on the younger sister. One day the older sister learned her parents were angry about something Calder had done with her sister. When he continued working at the hotel she felt betrayed. It was only two years ago that she learned her parents had heard that Calder was just using offensive language.
A witness who told the court she had often played with the younger complainant said the accused liked touching them inappropriately and one day he asked them to join him in bed. "It wasn't funny ... and I was frightened." Also called to the witness stand was the complainant's mother, to whom the witness had mentioned Calder's foul language. That was the only time she knew of anything inappropriate between Calder and her daughters, she said. The trial is continuing.
