NEW ZEALAND
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Nelson Mail
TRACY NEAL
A frail, elderly Nelson man who used his position in a church to befriend a young boy and his family has gone to prison for 18 months for serious sexual offences committed against the teenager.
When he appeared in the Nelson District Court in May, Hugh Nielsen, 81, admitted a representative charge of indecent assault involving a boy aged 12-16 between September 2004 and May 2005, and another of unlawful sexual connection with a young person aged under 16.
He pleaded guilty to the charges after the first day of a trial, and was remanded on bail for sentencing yesterday.
Nielsen was also instructed to pay $15,000 in emotional harm reparation which he had earlier offered the victim and his family.
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