Auckland man James Walter Skelton was sentenced to home detention in 2024 after he was convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl. 

Skelton, then 78, met the child and her family in the small Coromandel town where they both have beach houses. He became a close friend and was “trusted like a grandfather”. 

He continually denied any wrongdoing, but after a trial, a jury found him guilty on two charges of doing an indecent act on the child. 

Two days after his sentence and post-detention conditions ended – which included a ban on entering the town or having any contact with people under 16, Skelton returned to the scene of the crime. 

The victim’s parents are devastated and feel there is no way to protect their daughter from seeing the man who destroyed her young life. 

They spoke to senior journalist Anna Leask. 

James Skelton returned to the Coromandel town where the offending happened days after his release. Photo . Supplied 

When they found out the man convicted of violating and traumatising their little girl had returned to Hahei and would be staying – likely often – near their beloved family beach house, Dan and Louise were overwhelmed with grief, anger, powerlessness, injustice and disgust. 

“He finished his probation on Thursday last week, and came back to Hahei on Saturday,” said Dan. 

“Despite everything, our daughter has no legal protection, while he is free to travel and live in close proximity to the victim. 

“It’s been three-and-a-half years, and we’re having to go through it all over again now that the sentence is finished. It’s all coming back to us again.” 

Hahei has a population of about 350 people, and while it spikes to more than 3000 over the summer, the local community remains tight-knit. 

Dan and Louise said the town was their family’s haven but that was destroyed when Skelton was caught abusing their child. 

He was a close friend. A trusted member of their family “extension”. 

Dan and Louise’s kids loved him. They spent countless hours with him when they were in Hahei. 

“You can’t actually capture the emotion, the journey, the derailing of her life, which then impacted on ours, our families and our friends.” Dan said. 

“The journey was unpreparable and heartbreaking. 

“You can’t actually explain the experience or the emotion of cradling your screaming daughter in the middle of the night with relentless nightmares, trying to rebuild her confidence and trust in others, dealing with her refusing to go to school, not wanting to wear togs for fear of body exposure … and general basic life … and now to seeing him again.” 

Abuser trusted like a grandfather 

In November 2024, James “Jim” Skelton was sentenced to 10 months’ home detention by Judge Anna-Marie Skellern in the North Shore District Court. 

Earlier that year, he stood trial on five counts of doing an indecent act on the 9-year-old girl. 

He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. 

But after hearing all of the evidence, including the young victim’s harrowing testimony and cross-examination across multiple days, a jury found him guilty on two counts. 

Judge Skellern’s sentencing notes were provided to the Herald by the court and outline Skelton’s offending. 

The first sexual assault happened in April 2022 when the victim and her family were at Skelton’s house for dinner. 

A month later, the families ran into each other at a local cafe. 

Skelton later walked with the child back to his house and when they went inside alone, he assaulted her again. 

“The impact on the family has been significant to say the least,” said Judge Skellern. 

“The victim’s father and mother speak of the severe impact on the family, their feelings of disbelief, their feelings of anger, their feelings of being deceived and their deep sadness. 

“They refer to the changes in this child and the overwhelming, as I would put it, sense of helplessness that they feel in respect of the changes to their family dynamic.” 

James Skelton was a 'trusted grandfather figure' to his victim and her family. Photo / Supplied 

The judge said the parents had taken various measures to “try and ameliorate some of the damage”, including therapy for their daughter. 

The child had “ongoing fear” and had been diagnosed with PTSD. 

“The victim herself speaks of her issues with sleeping and the bad memories that now attach to what was one of her special places in the world,” Judge Skellern said. 

Judge Skellern noted that Skelton continued to deny abusing the girl. 

‘Extreme harm’ to a vulnerable victim 

The Crown argued that there were several aggravating features to Skelton’s offending, including the age of vulnerability of the victim, the abuse of trust given he was “a de facto grandfather figure” and the “extreme harm” caused by his “egregious breach of trust”. 

“The trauma caused was really serious,” said Judge Skellern. 

“The Crown … notes that the victim’s family and the victim have concerns in respect of the proximity of children to the beach property. 

“[The prosecutor] submits that the … he has no remorse … Given that Mr Skelton denies the offending and is undertaking no rehabilitation, he remains high risk.” 

The court heard Skelton had no previous convictions and “had not faced any allegations of this sort previously”. 

His lawyer argued that due to his age, “poor health” and “previous good character”, home detention was a suitable sentence. 

Judge Skellern said she had to order a sentence that would hold the sex offender accountable for his actions, and “promote in him a sense of responsibility”. 

It also had to “denounce and deter” all similar offending and take into account rehabilitation and reintegration needs. 

James Skelton. Photo / Supplied 

“I must also impose the least restrictive outcome that is appropriate in the circumstances,” she said. 

“Home detention is the most appropriate sentence.” 

She sentenced Skelton to home detention at an Auckland property he owns with his wife. 

She also put a raft of post-detention conditions in place for the six months that followed the sentence, including a ban on entering Hahei, and from having any unsupervised contact or association with anyone under 16 without the prior approval of his Probation Officer. 

Skelton was not added to the Child Sex Offenders Register. 

Offender free to return to scene of crime 

Dan and Louise delayed telling their daughter that Skelton was back in Hahei. 

“We have been talking to her therapist about how we handle the situation,” said Dan. 

“Since finding out that he is travelling to Hahei, her PTSD has been triggered – we are now back to sleeping with her every night to get her to sleep due to her recurring nightmares again about what happened. 

“She is scared again.” 

Louise said Skelton had done irreparable damage to her daughter and “she will never be the same”. 

“This has changed her in so many ways,” she said. 

“From being an innocent nine-year-old girl, living life, having fun, trusting, and just giving life a go, to simple things of changing what she wears to be more inconspicuous, thinking about life’s purpose more, not feeling socially comfortable anymore, and not even engaging with people we know. 

“Because [he] was a person of trust – and an elderly person of trust, who you trust even more – that broke her sense of stability and hurt her so badly. 

“That’s why we needed to be cautious in how we relay it to her – because years of rebuilding could be undone in a minute if we don’t handle it properly.” 

The victim's parents say the offending was devastating and she now has PTSD. Photo / File 

Dan says that Hahei is a beach town “filled with young families – a place where children still roam the streets freely, having fun and simply being kids”. 

“Many neighbours and Hahei residents are deeply concerned about Skelton’s return,” he said. 

“They are not comfortable with the situation, and feel helpless – unable to do anything more to protect their young families,” Louise added. 

“The reason for telling our daughter’s story is to raise awareness, to help protect young families, and in the hope that it will prevent another family from going through the same heartbreak.” 

When Skelton’s abuse came to light, Dan and Louise stopped going to Hahei. 

They only went back after his arrest. 

“When we eventually began returning, it was incredibly hard on our daughter – each visit forced her to relive the nightmares all over again,” said Dan. 

“It has taken a great deal of counselling and time for her to feel safe enough to go back. 

“Recently, she had begun to enjoy Hahei again and was finally looking forward to going. But now, he is back.” 

Louise wanted people to know what Skelton had done – and about the suffering victims continue to go through after the justice process comes to an end. 

She also wanted to encourage people to report abuse. 

“I want to encourage others to come forward and to inspire victims to speak up, even though it is much easier to be quiet,” she said. 

“I can only imagine the soul-destroying journey of a victim, having witnessed the heartbreak of our own daughter, and I can see why people often choose not to take it to court. 

“I really want to encourage people to find the courage, to find your voice and to be heard by speaking up for what is wrong.” 

Dan and Louise said their journey was made much easier by “a great detective” who “went out of his way” to support their daughter and family. 

“He’s still on a journey with us now,” said Dan. 

“And the Crown prosecutor was amazing - and our therapist for our family was our absolute lifeline, and still is. 

“We simply could not have walked this incredibly difficult path without them beside us. To all of you who supported us – at no point did you ever question our nine-year-old’s voice; she had your full support and belief from the start.” 

The couple also wanted to recognise their daughter’s bravery. 

“She was cross-examined over a three-day period … It was unbelievable what they put her through … they tried to break her down – one day she was on the stand for nearly six hours, and as a nine-year-old needing to defend her innocence and her integrity being challenged; the [defence] tactics were terrible," Dan said. 

“But she kept standing up, fighting for her voice.” 

Louise wanted her daughter’s courage to inspire other victims. 

“I want to honour that courage and say to others who are suffering: your voice matters, your truth matters. Pushing through can be incredibly difficult – but you are not alone,” she said. 

SEXUAL HARM 

Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
You can also contact HELP, a 24-hour service for survivors of recent or historical assault and those disclosing abuse for the first time.
• 0800 623 1700
• Text 8236
• For more information visit helpauckland.co.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz