Warning: This story contains evidence of a sexual nature which some readers may find upsetting.

A woman sobbed as her partner was convicted of repeated sexual abuse against her nieces and nephews.

The man remained expressionless as the verdicts were read. The woman then left the court in tears, telling her partner that she loved him as he was taken into custody. He responded that he loved her too.

The 26-year-old man faced 27 charges of sexual and physical abuse in the trial which began last week in the Tauranga District Court.

He was convicted on the majority of the charges, but was acquitted on two violence charges and two charges of indecent assault.

The court heard evidence of forced oral sex, groping, hands under clothing, and physical violence against five complainants, aged between 10 and 15 at the time of the alleged offending.

The complainants are cousins and had been living or staying at a whānau home in Kawerau where the defendant and his partner, the children’s aunt, also lived for a time.

The court heard in closing addresses the case would hinge on the key question: Did the alleged events happen, or did they not?

The jury would need to be sure they believed the complainants’ evidence and the witness accounts of the allegations.

Issues of consent may not be as relevant, due to the age of the complainants and their ability to comprehend the nature of the acts they were allegedly made to perform, or had performed on them, Judge David Cameron told the jury.

Defence lawyer David Bates told jury members they would need to be systematic in their approach, and shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the 27 charges.

He reminded the jury his client denied every charge.

“Which may seem incredible given the avalanche of evidence you’ve heard,” he said.

He told the jury it wasn’t about the quantity of evidence, but rather the quality.

He said his client had been a believable witness and had given convincing testimony that the events he’d been accused of had never happened.

He pointed to the defendant’s long working hours and said the defendant’s explanation that he’d not spent much time around the young cousins was entirely plausible.

He reminded the jury of evidence his client gave about not having a driver’s licence, and not being permitted to drive one of the family members’ cars, as a reasonable defence against the charges he faced of sexually violating one of the teenage cousins in that car, on several occasions.

Crown prosecutor Catherine Harold said the jury could be sure the Crown evidence was strong enough to convict the defendant.

“They were genuine, believable witnesses,” she said.

She talked about the way the cousins had confided in one another, their reluctance to tell adult family members, and their hesitancy in talking about things of a sexual nature.

This all “made a lot of sense”, she said, given the context of the allegations and the family dynamics at play.

What the court heard

The most serious and repeated charges related to a teenage boy who said he’d been forced to perform oral sex on the man so many times he’d become “used to it”.

He told the court the man would lead him out of sight, take advantage of them being alone in a car, or come into the room where he slept and “force him” to perform oral sex.

He said the defendant threatened to give him a “hiding” if he didn’t.

The first instance was alleged to have happened when the boy was 13, with the last allegation when he was 15.

Another complainant said she’d been taken outside to a porch by the defendant late one night after he’d found her upset.

She alleges he’d offered her a comforting side hug, before sliding his hand into her bra.

A younger cousin, who was 12 at the time of the alleged offending, said she’d been asleep in the lounge next to her Nan when she had woken to find the defendant attempting to “wedge” his hand between her legs and touch her “private part”.

“I felt like if I screamed I would wake the house up, but if I didn’t, I’d be in more trouble,” the girl said in evidence.

She alleged that his abuse later escalated when he removed her pants and sexually violated her in a small shed on the property.

In her video evidence, she said she “froze”.

“All I know is that I felt scared and afraid of what happened.”

The court heard from the two other complainants that the defendant had exposed his genitalia and played with it, swinging it around, while staring at the younger of the two, a then 10-year-old girl.

The man has been remanded in custody until sentencing.