(File photo)
Photo: RNZ

Warning: This article discusses child grooming and abuse that may be upsetting to some readers.

A bus driver who groomed a boy through their mutual interest in toy cars took the child into an isolated room at a retirement village and kissed him.

Robert Vercoe, 71, of Kaitāia, was charged with one count of doing an indecent act with a boy aged between 12 and 16 following an incident in 2021.

While Vercoe pleaded not guilty to the charge, a jury found him guilty at a trial held earlier this year, and last week he was sentenced in the Whangārei District Court by Judge John McDonald.

The court heard Vercoe lived in a pensioner village and was driving the local school bus when he befriended the 13-year-old boy. The child would visit him at the village and they would discuss their interests in toy cars.

On 21 November, 2021, the boy went to Vercoe’s to show him three new cars but Vercoe eventually led the boy into a bedroom where he kissed him twice on the lips before the child pushed him away.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the boy said he did not want to get Vercoe in trouble, but he also did not want him to do this to anyone else.

He had a profound respect for the elderly, having spent most of his life around them, however, the experience had left his perspective frayed.

“What happened affected my trust and perspective on the people I get along with the most and I no longer trust elderly people immediately,” the boy said.

Vercoe’s lawyer Martin Hislop said there was still some dispute over the placement of the kiss which his client claimed was on the cheek to cheer the boy up.

“Of course, there is a denial of where it occurred. Whether it was on the side of the face or lips there is insight into what has been caused.

“He feels bad about what he has caused, that is genuinely how he feels. He wishes the best for the victim and his family.”

Judge McDonald found the offence reasonably serious given the age disparity and the signs of grooming.

A pre-sentence report also noted there had been concerns about his association with young boys raised in the past.

“Cars and a 13-year-old boy you had sexual feelings for.

“I am firmly of the view you were grooming him in the hope of starting and continuing a sexual relationship with him; it had all the classic indicators.

“I don’t want you to think this was a bit of harmless fun, it was not.”

Judge McDonald said he believed Vercoe should go to prison however he was bound by the law and sentenced him to eight months home detention with some final words.

“You offend against a young person again, there will be no question it will be prison, so you’re on notice.”

Male sexual abuse survivors

Where to get help:

If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

If you have been abused, remember it’s not your fault.

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.