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Jeremy Cavanagh
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Sexual violation by unlawful connection and doing an indecent act on two 13 year old Hamilton girls in September 2007
.
.
none known
Born 1979
Unknown
Sentenced to 3 years 6 months in August 2009
Background
From Waikato Times story Aug 5th 2009
A Hamilton school teacher convicted of sex offences against a teenager will appeal his convictions. Jeremy Mark Cavanagh, 30, was sentenced yesterday at the Hamilton District Court to 3 years 6 months jail. He was earlier found guilty of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and one count of doing an indecent act on a person under the age of 16.
Cavanagh's offending occurred at his Hamilton apartment on September 16, 2007, after he invited two 13-year-old girls there. The girls had arranged to meet Cavanagh at a bus stop. Cavanagh, who introduced himself as "Danny", drove the girls to his apartment where he tried to remove one of the girl's trousers and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
In submissions, defence counsel Warren Scotter highlighted the inconsistencies in the complainants' versions of events and especially the victim's remark, at trial, that the offending against her was a "non-event". Mr Scotter, however, said Cavanagh had made a horrendous mistake by not asking the girls' ages. Cavanagh admitted inviting the girls back to his apartment and said he thought the girls were about 18 or 19.
Crown prosecutor Thomas Sutcliffe said Cavanagh was a trained professional who would have been aware of the complainants' young ages. The defendant's admission that he tried to kiss his victim shortly after returning to his apartment lent itself to "sinister interpretations". Cavanagh had also met other young women in random situations, Mr Sutcliffe said. "Cavanagh had been playing with fire and on this occasion got seriously burnt."
In sentencing, Judge Melanie Harland said the inconsistencies in the two girls' evidence were put to the jurors who rejected Cavanagh's explanations of events. The name of Cavanagh's former school was yesterday suppressed by the judge. Speaking afterwards, Mr Scotter said an application appealing the convictions would be filed immediately.
From Waikato Times story July 2th 2009
Supporters of a Hamilton school teacher on trial for sex offending yesterday wept in court as the man was found guilty. A jury yesterday found Jeremy Mark Cavanagh, 30, guilty of one count of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and one count of doing an indecent act on a young person under the age of 16. He was found not guilty of a second count of doing an indecent act on a young person under the age of 16. The court was told Cavanagh's offending occurred at his apartment on September 16, 2007, after he invited two 13-year-old girls there.
The girls had arranged to meet Cavanagh at a Hamilton bus stop after one of the complainants began getting a series of phone calls and texts from the defendant. After meeting the girls, Cavanagh drove the pair to his apartment where he tried to remove one of the girl's trousers and forced her to perform oral sex on him. Cavanagh denied the offending but said the girls had visited his home and he had tried to kiss one of them.
He had assumed the complainants were aged about 18 or 19 and said he was silly to invite the girls back to his home. Defence counsel Warren Scotter said the girls' allegations lacked detail and contained too many inconsistencies to be believed. In his closing address, Crown prosecutor Thomas Sutcliffe said Cavanagh's "suspect creepy Behaviour" went beyond what he had admitted.
The defendant had met the girls dressed as a teenager - with his pants around his buttocks - and went "straight to business" once the girls were inside his home. "What other 29-year-old school teacher goes around picking up little girls and can't judge their age?" Mr Sutcliffe asked. It was not revealed which school the defendant taught at. Judge Melanie Harland remanded Cavanagh in custody for sentencing later this month.
From Waikato Times story July 1st 2009
A Hamilton teacher accused of molesting two teenage girls said he "freaked out" when told the complainants were only 13. Jeremy Mark Cavanagh, 30, is charged with one count of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and two of doing an indecent act on a young person under the age of 16. The Crown alleges Cavanagh's offending occurred at his Hamilton apartment in September, 2007, against two 13-year-old girls.
The girls had earlier agreed to meet Cavanagh after one began receiving a series of text messages and phone calls from the accused. At the Hamilton District Court yesterday, jurors were shown a taped interview Cavanagh gave with police last year. Cavanagh denied the alleged offending but said the complainants had visited his apartment and he had tried to kiss one of them. He said he had not asked the complainants their age but assumed they were about 18 or 19.
The accused said it had given him a "massive fright" when told the girls were only 13. "I really freaked out," he said. Cavanagh said he was silly to invite the complainants back to his home. "This was slightly random and slightly stupid." The accused said he was given one of the complainants' phone numbers by a female associate who suggested he phone her. In earlier evidence, one of the complainants told the court she returned to Cavanagh's address several days later to confront him. After the visit, Cavanagh phoned police upset by the accusations the girls were making. The trial is expected to finish today.
From Waikato Times story June 30th 2009
A Hamilton school teacher accused of molesting two teenage girls at his home allegedly began texting one of the girls using a false name, a court was told. Those allegations were made on the first day of the trial of Jeremy Mark Cavanagh at the Hamilton District Court yesterday.
Cavanagh, a 30-year-old teacher, faces one count of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and two of doing an indecent act on a young person under the age of 16. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Crown prosecutor Thomas Sutcliffe told jurors the alleged offending occurred at Cavanagh's apartment on September 16, 2007.
The two complainants, then aged 13, had been at a concert the night before when one of the girls began getting a series of phone calls and texts from an unknown man named "Danny". The next day the man rang the teen's mobile phone again and arranged to meet the girls at a Hamilton bus stop.
After meeting the girls the accused, who the Crown identified as Cavanagh, drove the girls to his apartment and molested them. Cavanagh, represented by Warren Scotter and Jemma Stewart, denied the alleged offending. It was not revealed in court which school Cavanagh taught at, or whether the girls attended the same school.
The court was told that in a phone call to police Cavanagh had said the complainants had visited his apartment and he had tried to kiss one of them. One of the complainants told the court that she did not know the accused but co-operated with him because she was scared. She had "freaked out" after getting into his car and had unsuccessfully tried to ring a friend while inside Cavanagh's apartment.
Under cross examination, the complainant said Cavanagh had not forced the pair into his car or apartment and she admitted returning to his address with a group of friends two or three days later. "I felt safe with the friends that I was with," she said. In his opening address, Mr Scotter said if the teens' evidence was not credible then their accusations could be seen as "nothing more than a trumped up cock and bull story". The trial, in front of Judge Melanie Harland and a jury of 10 women and two men, is expected to last three days.
