Near two-decade jail term for Burrett

A judge has speculated that sex offender Robert Selwyn Burrett is likely serve all of his 19-year 6-month jail sentence because he remains such a high risk to children.

Serving all of the sentence would mean Burrett would be about 83 years old when he was finally released from prison, and even then an extended supervision order could keep him closely monitored.

The High Court at Christchurch was packed with family members of Burrett’s child victims to see the 64-year-old jailed after he admitted 21 sex offences involving 12 victims aged from five to 12.

The families remained restrained as he was led away to begin the sentence imposed by Justice Gerald Nation on the school caretaker and bus driver who sexual abused so many girls, including some who were intellectually or physically disabled.

Burrett pleaded guilty in February, admitting offences of rape, sodomy, forced oral sex, indecent assaults, video-taping of the offending, and watching pornography. The name of the school and the bus company that employed him as a driver remain suppressed, and the victims’ names are automatically suppressed.

Much of the offending occurred in a caretaker’s shed which Burrett had fitted with a lock and curtains.

Justice Nation said that Burrett’s pre-sentence report suggested that his current attitude and ways of thinking made him a continuing risk of harm to others. His likelihood of reoffending was assessed as high.

If he placed himself in a situation with children, he could easily reoffend sexually.

“You will require several years of on-going intense psychological treatment to reduce the factors which resulted in your offending,” said the judge.

It was unlikely the parole board would consider him eligible for release unless there was a significant change in his thinking and attitude.

He imposed a minimum non-parole term of 10 years before Burrett can be considered for release, but he said it was more likely that Burrett would serve the whole of the sentence and would be aged about 83 when he was released. Even then, an extended supervision order can be imposed to keep him closely monitored.

The pre-sentence report said Burrett failed to show any insight into the long term consequences of his offending. He did not recognise the high level of harm to the victims and their families.

He had “dehumanised” his victims, saying that some of them enjoyed sex with adults and were not harmed emotionally or physically by this. The judge described this as “a cognitive distortion”.

Burrett did not acknowledge the extent of his deviant sexual proclivities. Material found on his computer showed a perverse interest in sexual activity involving children.

His actions had been shocking and abhorrent and had affected not just the victims and their families but also the whole community by making people less confident when they were interacting with children.

One mother read her victim impact statement in court. She told Burrett: “I feel like a useless parent. I blame myself for not being more cautious and in not knowing it was happening. I know there is only one person to blame, and that’s you.”

She was now more watchful and suspicious of people.

“I hate you and I hate what you have done to my daughters,” she said, referring to her anger. “I am frightened by how this could impact in the future.”

“I hope no child is ever allowed near you again,” she said. She said she cringed when she went to the school now and saw the shed where so much of the offending occurred.

Defence counsel for Burrett, Rupert Glover, said reading the victim impact statements had been “a moment of epiphany” for the offender and he was anxious to convey to the victims and their families his feeling of remorse.

He had slowly been coming to terms with the gravity of his offending and the harm he had caused to the children, their families, and the wider community.

He had been diagnosed as having a significant psycho sexual disturbance and was now anxious to get treatment for it, said Mr Glover.

 

 

 

Tags: child abuse, rape, sexual violation

Category: Focus