At a judge-alone trial held at the Whangārei District Court earlier this year, the court heard that Bristow was 16 when he was left in charge of two young girls.
That night, he twice sexually violated one of the girls.
The victim, now an adult, gave evidence at the trial before Judge Gene Tomlinson, describing the sexual ordeal in detail.
She said that after he violated her, Bristow approached her younger sister, but the victim intervened.
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As she stopped him from approaching her sister, she saw his face and was able to identify him as Bristow.
Ōmapere beach, where David Taylor was killed by Sydney Bristow in 1999. Photo / Supplied
It wasn’t until many years later, when she saw Bristow again, that she had a visceral reaction to the trauma he had inflicted.
At the trial, Bristow gave evidence that he was not in the area at the time of the sexual violation, and even if he was, he never babysat the girls, as there were plenty of adults who were relied upon.
But in the reserved decision, delivered last week, Judge Tomlinson accepted the victim’s evidence.
He said in cases such as this, it was often a situation of “he said, she said” but based on the victim’s accurate and detailed evidence, it was Bristow who committed the offence.
Judge Tomlinson entered convictions on two charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection. Bristow will be sentenced at a later date.
Not long after the sexual violation, Bristow was involved in the murder of Taylor in the early hours of New Year’s Day 1999 at Ōmapere.
Bristow, then 17, Henare Wikaira, and Kacey Wikaira, who were also in their late teens at the time, had been drinking heavily at the Ōmapere Tourist Hotel, now known as the Copthorne Hotel.
Later that evening, they were involved in disturbances at a nearby campsite.
Around 1am, Taylor chased Kacey Wikaira out of the campground and down to the beach.
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When Taylor stopped to catch his breath, Henare Wikaira attacked him from behind, landing “a good 20″ of his “hardest” punches, he told police in a statement.
Bristow joined in, striking Taylor with a Lion Red bottle and throwing fist-sized rocks at his head.
Henare Wikaira then dropped a large rock – up to 70cm wide – on to Taylor’s head.
Taylor died in hospital a few days later.
Bristow was convicted of the murder in 2000 and sentenced to life imprisonment but was released after serving the minimum 10-year non-parole period.
The recent decision relating to the sexual violation stated he was recalled to prison in 2020 but did not mention the reason for the recall.
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Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.