He was a one-man megaphone for Christian indignation for more than a decade. Now Graham Capill stands disgraced, a convicted child molester.
His downfall has shocked former colleagues and dealt a potentially fatal blow to Christian Heritage, the political party he led for 13 years.
In Christchurch District Court yesterday, the 46-year-old father of 10 admitted a charge of indecent assault for fondling an eight-year-old girl's genitals.
Eyes down and fighting back tears, he clutched not a Bible but a small black diary as he stood in the dock.
Security was tight, after he was assaulted outside court last week.
A name suppression order was lifted.
Daniel Andrew McNally has been charged with last week's attack.
Capill's wife, Judy, has chosen to support him through his difficulties, sources have confirmed.
The offending took place in the year before November 4, 2002, when he was the family-friendly face of the Christian Heritage Party.
Police have confirmed that they were alerted to the abuse through an agency, which they refuse to name, in February.
When they questioned him, Capill declined to comment.
But yesterday he pleaded guilty to one representative charge of indecently assaulting a female aged under 12, an offence that carries a maximum 10 years in jail.
He was remanded on bail till May 20 for sentencing.
As Christian Heritage Party leader, Capill touted himself as the moral conscience of the nation.
He publicly decried dead gay artists Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe; said a Maori statue with an erect penis was obscene; and launched a moral crusade against the "blasphemous" Virgin in a Condom display at Te Papa.
He also railed against the Family Planning Association and threatened to take Prime Minister Helen Clark to court over "paintergate".
His former associates are shocked. "A lot of people put a lot of effort into the cause of Christian family values in politics over the last decade and I'm sure they will be absolutely devastated by this," said Ewen McQueen, who replaced Mr Capill as Christian Heritage leader.
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, who ran as a Christian Heritage candidate, said she had liked Capill as a person, but they had fallen out over his "superior attitude".
Others had told her, however, that they found "something about him off-putting. They told me he was sleazy, they didn't think he was on the up and up.
"I guess I wasn't the best judge of character."
Capill, now a police prosecutor, was suspended from duty last month.
Police refused to comment further about his employment status but confirmed yesterday that Capill had not offered his resignation.
He was employed by Christchurch police in their communications centre in 2003, the year he resigned as leader of Christian Heritage. He became a police prosecutor last year.
His lawyer, Jonathan Eaton, said his prompt guilty plea reflected his deep shame and heartfelt regret for the harm he had caused to his family and others.
The complainant, who was eight at the time, told police that Capill had stroked her genitals on more than one occasion by placing his hands inside her garments and underwear.
Asked how many times she had been touched in this way, she told police "three or four times, maybe less", according to a summary of facts.
Now 11, the girl said the fondling usually occurred during the weekend. It would often last for a few minutes and end without Capill saying a word to her.
'THIS IS VERY MUCH A TERRIBLE BETRAYAL'
Distraught Christian Heritage New Zealand leader Ewen McQueen says it is too early to talk about forgiving his one-time political mentor Graham Capill.
"When news breaks like this, you don't normally go straight to talking about forgiveness. Those things come down the track a little bit. At the moment I think most people will be quite shocked, and there will be a lot of angry people too, I'm sure."
New Zealanders were entitled to have high expectations of their leaders, "especially those who profess the Christian faith", Mr McQueen said. "This is very much a terrible betrayal."
He said Capill quit the party six months ago in anger at its direction under the new leadership.
"It's certainly undermined everything Graham's ever said and, yes, to some degree, that does wash off on the rest of the party as well.
"My main concern at the moment is not for the party, though, but the victim...who's been damaged by this and also the Christian Church in New Zealand, because this has just really sullied that reputation and I think that's what hurts the most."
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3235224a10,00.html
His downfall has shocked former colleagues and dealt a potentially fatal blow to Christian Heritage, the political party he led for 13 years.
In Christchurch District Court yesterday, the 46-year-old father of 10 admitted a charge of indecent assault for fondling an eight-year-old girl's genitals.
Eyes down and fighting back tears, he clutched not a Bible but a small black diary as he stood in the dock.
Security was tight, after he was assaulted outside court last week.
A name suppression order was lifted.
Daniel Andrew McNally has been charged with last week's attack.
Capill's wife, Judy, has chosen to support him through his difficulties, sources have confirmed.
The offending took place in the year before November 4, 2002, when he was the family-friendly face of the Christian Heritage Party.
Police have confirmed that they were alerted to the abuse through an agency, which they refuse to name, in February.
When they questioned him, Capill declined to comment.
But yesterday he pleaded guilty to one representative charge of indecently assaulting a female aged under 12, an offence that carries a maximum 10 years in jail.
He was remanded on bail till May 20 for sentencing.
As Christian Heritage Party leader, Capill touted himself as the moral conscience of the nation.
He publicly decried dead gay artists Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe; said a Maori statue with an erect penis was obscene; and launched a moral crusade against the "blasphemous" Virgin in a Condom display at Te Papa.
He also railed against the Family Planning Association and threatened to take Prime Minister Helen Clark to court over "paintergate".
His former associates are shocked. "A lot of people put a lot of effort into the cause of Christian family values in politics over the last decade and I'm sure they will be absolutely devastated by this," said Ewen McQueen, who replaced Mr Capill as Christian Heritage leader.
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, who ran as a Christian Heritage candidate, said she had liked Capill as a person, but they had fallen out over his "superior attitude".
Others had told her, however, that they found "something about him off-putting. They told me he was sleazy, they didn't think he was on the up and up.
"I guess I wasn't the best judge of character."
Capill, now a police prosecutor, was suspended from duty last month.
Police refused to comment further about his employment status but confirmed yesterday that Capill had not offered his resignation.
He was employed by Christchurch police in their communications centre in 2003, the year he resigned as leader of Christian Heritage. He became a police prosecutor last year.
His lawyer, Jonathan Eaton, said his prompt guilty plea reflected his deep shame and heartfelt regret for the harm he had caused to his family and others.
The complainant, who was eight at the time, told police that Capill had stroked her genitals on more than one occasion by placing his hands inside her garments and underwear.
Asked how many times she had been touched in this way, she told police "three or four times, maybe less", according to a summary of facts.
Now 11, the girl said the fondling usually occurred during the weekend. It would often last for a few minutes and end without Capill saying a word to her.
'THIS IS VERY MUCH A TERRIBLE BETRAYAL'
Distraught Christian Heritage New Zealand leader Ewen McQueen says it is too early to talk about forgiving his one-time political mentor Graham Capill.
"When news breaks like this, you don't normally go straight to talking about forgiveness. Those things come down the track a little bit. At the moment I think most people will be quite shocked, and there will be a lot of angry people too, I'm sure."
New Zealanders were entitled to have high expectations of their leaders, "especially those who profess the Christian faith", Mr McQueen said. "This is very much a terrible betrayal."
He said Capill quit the party six months ago in anger at its direction under the new leadership.
"It's certainly undermined everything Graham's ever said and, yes, to some degree, that does wash off on the rest of the party as well.
"My main concern at the moment is not for the party, though, but the victim...who's been damaged by this and also the Christian Church in New Zealand, because this has just really sullied that reputation and I think that's what hurts the most."
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3235224a10,00.html
