Temple decision a slap in the face for victims

| NZ Herald | Letter to Editor |

In December 2025, Gloriavale leader Howard Temple was sentenced to 26 months in prison after pleading guilty to a raft of sex offences against six young victims in the Gloriavale community.

An appeal was filed, and because of the 85-year-old’s diminishing physical and cognitive health, the sentence was reduced to 11 months of home detention at a Greymouth property. His name is also to be removed from the child sex offender register.

This is a complete slap in the face for all the victims and an embarrassment to the justice system of New Zealand.

Does it also mean that any ageing prisoner with diminishing physical and cognitive health now has the right to appeal their sentence or is this only allowed for high-profile individuals?

Neil Hatfull, Warkworth.