Ex-Gloriavale leader appeals imprisonment for touching girls

| The Press | Brett Kerr-Laurie |

Former Gloriavale leader Howard Temple says his 26-month prison sentence for inappropriately touching girls over two decades is unfair.

Through his lawyer, Temple, 85, argued part of the sentence was “more than stern”, and his remorse, age, health and “onerous” bail conditions were under-appreciated.

Temple last year pleaded guilty to 12 amended charges related to inappropriately touching and rubbing girls and young women at Gloriavale between 2002 and 2022.

However, he immediately appealed a two-year, two-month prison sentence delivered on December 12 – and has been on bail ever since.

At the High Court at Christchurch on Thursday, lawyer Michael Vesty argued the appeal on Temple’s behalf.

Vesty questioned Judge Raoul Neave’s sentencing calculations and groupings of charges. He said some aspects were “more than stern”, risked double counting, and contributed to an “excessive uplift”.

He sought a further 5% credit for Temple’s remorse, saying that Temple “did put himself in the shoes” of his victims and reflected on his behaviour.

Temple’s age, cognitive impairment, and isolation from the world for five decades at Gloriavale also needed consideration, Vesty said.

“He hasn’t had the advantages of learning from the outside world as others may have.”

Vesty said Temple should have been granted a higher than 1.8-month discount for the 13 months he spent under “restrictive” and “onerous” bail conditions.

The conditions had removed his client from his community, social supports and all structures that he had known for 50 years, he said.

Ultimately, Vesty contended Temple’s prison sentence should be quashed and replaced with a lesser, non-custodial sentence.

In response, Crown solicitor Aaron Harvey said while Judge Neave’s exact sentence calculations may be unclear, the end result was adequate.

Harvey highlighted the “brazenness” of Temple’s offending, the position of trust he held, and that the touching occurred in broad daylight.

Temple’s display of remorse did not warrant further credit, and he had originally opted for a trial before pleading guilty, the lawyer said.

Harvey said Temple’s bail conditions were not isolating, as he could enter Gloriavale for certain occasions, had family visits, and there was no curfew or electronic monitoring.

It made sense the 85-year-old was barred from the “alleged crime scene” where it was believed his offending took place, Harvey said.

A non-custodial sentence would “inadequately reflect the scale of the offending”, plus the offending’s ongoing nature and the number of victims involved, he concluded.

Justice Owen Paulsen reserved his decision.

In Temple’s sentencing in December, the District Court heard he repeatedly indecently touched girls and young women’s bottoms and legs.

He told them he loved them and called one of them his “favourite girlfriend”.

Temple, at one point a principal of an early childhood centre in the community, also admitted touching a young woman’s breast, kissing another’s neck and rubbing a girl’s body.

He was an American mechanical engineer formerly called Howard Smitherman before joining Gloriavale in the 1970s.

Hopeful Christian, who founded the community in 1969, was found guilty of indecent assault in the 1990s – the grim details of which were only made public a couple of years ago – and spent just under two years behind bars.

Christian chose Temple as his successor before his death in 2018.