Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Other or denomination not established Auckland, New Zealand · 2026

New Zealand: church pastor sentenced for assaulting girls from his congregation over two decades

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

Pacific Island church pastor

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The complainants were girls of the congregation the defendant pastored; his pastoral standing is what gave him access to them across two decades.

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2026-01-01 · guilty plea and sentence

New Zealand courts. Pacific Island church pastor and businessman Siosateki Tonga Faletau pleaded guilty to assaulting girls as young as ten, with offending between 2001 and 2020, and was sentenced to two years and three months.

Primary record

national newspaper court reporting sentencing report 'Pacific Island church pastor sentenced for molesting girls over two decades', NZ Herald (2026).: New Zealand's paper of record reports the guilty plea, the offending period, and the sentence.

Related record