Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent Auckland, New Zealand · 2002

New Zealand: church youth leader Nathanael Thompson convicted of sexually violating boys he met through his congregation; conviction upheld on appeal

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

youth leader, small independent church, Auckland

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The Court of Appeal's own judgment records that Thompson 'was a youth leader of a small church in Auckland led by his cousin' and 'met the complainants through his church membership' -- the church relationship is stated as the origin and continuing context of his access to all three victims over the three-year charged period.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2002-07-25 · jury trial and sentence

    High Court of New Zealand, Auckland. A jury convicted Nathanael Thompson on 11 of 19 counts, including six counts of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and four counts of indecent assault against two boys, and one count of inducing an indecent act against a third boy, met through his role as a church youth leader in Auckland. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment on the sexual violation counts.

  2. 2002-10-16 · conviction appeal

    Court of Appeal of New Zealand. R v Thompson [2002] NZCA 401: none of the grounds of appeal were made out and the appeal against conviction was dismissed.

Appellate history

  1. The New Zealand Court of Appeal dismissed Thompson's conviction appeal on 16 October 2002 (R v Thompson [2002] NZCA 401).

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • met all three victims through his position as youth leader of a small church led by his own cousin
  • used his standing within the congregation to gain access to the boys outside formal church settings over a three-year period

Primary record

Sources

official court judgment appellate judgment R v Thompson [2002] NZCA 401 (16 October 2002).

New Zealand Court of Appeal judgment dismissing the conviction appeal; records the jury's guilty verdicts on 11 of 19 counts, the High Court's 10-year sentence, and that Thompson was a youth leader of a small Auckland church, led by his cousin, who met all three complainants through his church membership.

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