"Your life was a lie." That assessment by Judge Robert Kerr in the Christchurch District Court was still ringing in the ears of Graham Capill as New Zealand's one-time moral crusader was sentenced to nine years jail for his secret, simultaneous campaign of sexually molesting three young girls.
His fall from grace was witnessed yesterday by a packed public gallery that included his wife, who remains supportive, as well as those whose beliefs had earned them his righteous opprobrium while he was the leader of the Christian Heritage Party.
Capill swayed back and forth in the dock, with his head bowed and his face riven with emotion, as the judge summarised the rapes, sexual violations and indecent assaults on girls aged between five and 11 that occurred over a span roughly coinciding with Capill's leadership of the party.
Details here from stuff.co.nz.