Childcare worker sexually abused three brothers via Sunshine Coast church

By Chloe Lyons
Sunshine Coast Daily via Courier Mail
November 20, 2017

http://bit.ly/2B7kTBj

Nazareth Te Taiari Tira, 32, pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent treatment of a child in Maroochydore District Court after abusing three brothers between 2006 and 2014.

USING the trust he gained from the church community, a man sexually abused three brothers over the course of eight years, often while their mother was in the house.

When Nazareth Te Taiari Tira, now 32, was confronted by the first brother he abused in 2006, he told the 13 year old he "loved him like a son".

Just several days before in his family home, the teen had been woken by Tira lying down next to him on a futon and rubbing the inside of his leg near his groin.

The victim had to go downstairs and sleep in a separate room to get away from his abuser.

Then in 2011 when another brother, aged 11 woke up to go to the bathroom, he found Tira sleeping beside him with his hand touching the boy's penis.

As the child lay there trying to decide what to do he fell asleep, but Tira was gone when he woke up.

The last time Tira abused one of the brothers was in 2014 when the 14-year-old victim was home during the day with his mother upstairs.

Tira laid down next to him and began to hug and kiss him on the cheek, despite the teen protesting and trying to move away.

The victim told Tira to go away, but he instead began touching the teen's penis from outside his clothes.

The brothers' mother reported the abuse to their church in 2014, but it wasn't until an anonymous person alerted child safety that police got involved.

Despite Tira telling a doctor that he didn't see the conduct as "sexual", he sent a text message to the boys' mother apologising and asking for forgiveness.

The former childcare worker had his Blue Card removed by the time he was interviewed by police in April 2016, in which he told officers the victims must have been "confused" and the complaint was "mind-boggling".

He yesterday pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court to three counts of indecent treatment of a child.

Judge John Robertson rejected Tira's earlier belief the intent of his offending wasn't "sexual", as it had had a "significant" impact on the victims and their family.

The court heard it wasn't just the brothers' trust that had been breached, but that of their mother who trusted Tira in her family home.

Tira was supported in court by his brother's ex-partner.

The pair had a child together, but Tira has now stepped in to raise it as his own as his brother is no longer in the picture.

Judge Robertson sentenced Tira to nine months imprisonment for the first incident and 15 months each for the second and third to be served concurrently.

He will be eligible for parole after three months.