They included rape, indecent acts on a child, sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, five charges of knowingly making objectionable publications and one charge of possessing objectionable publications.
Cowden’s offending, some of which occurred when he had arranged for his daughter’s friends to sleep over, spanned almost three years.
Some of it he filmed.
The rape victim’s mother, from whom Cowden had separated, spoke at sentencing in the Auckland District Court of the severe and lifelong damage inflicted on her daughter, son and herself.
She said in a victim impact statement that her daughter’s life had been changed forever by the “horrific” things she endured. The girl faced lifelong psychological and emotional challenges as a result.
Her son had suffered emotional fallout and felt guilty, embarrassed and anxious.
The parents of other victims spoke of their overwhelming guilt and deep sense of betrayal.
Cowden sought help after his arrest from one victim’s family who didn’t know he had offended against their child.
“You were close family friends, and you got them to organise your affairs whilst you were in custody,” Judge Belinda Sellars, KC, said.
The family had also helped him in ongoing Family Court proceedings.
“That profound sense of betrayal and the fact that you sought their help after this had been revealed, notwithstanding what was on your tablet depicting their child,” Judge Sellars said.
Offender says ‘end of marriage’ linked to behaviour
Cowden, who was previously successful in his job and supported various volunteer groups, said he had “progressed” from adult pornography to child sexual exploitation material after the end of his marriage.
Judge Sellars said his offending against his daughter, when she was in his sole care, involved child sexual abuse and the systematic production of child sexual abuse material.
He was found out when he indecently assaulted his daughter’s friend during a sleepover in July 2025.
Cowden had arranged for the young girl to come to his house, the summary of facts said.
“Her mother trusted you to look after her daughter. She was vulnerable, aged 9 and defenceless,” Judge Sellars said.
The police summary of facts was so extreme that the defence argued it was an objectionable publication and sought to have it suppressed.
Judge Sellars considered that the principle of open justice should prevail and included the summary in her decision.
The offending against his daughter’s friend, while in a spa pool, led to a police search of Cowden’s home, during which an electronic device containing numerous videos and images was found.
Judge Sellars said the material had been created over several years and primarily showed the “prolonged sexual abuse” of his daughter.
“The facts reveal that you normalised sexually abusing her, and sexual play as such became a part of your relationship with her.”
The investigation also revealed that he covertly recorded several of his daughter’s young friends while they were naked or getting changed at his home.
Judge Sellars said this resulted in the objectionable publication charges and included other victims, one of whom could not be identified.
In addition to the material Cowden created, police found 12 further folders on his device, containing more than 4000 videos and 8000 images, about half of which were classified as objectionable.
Judge Sellars said 86 of the videos and 31 images were created by Cowden.
Only seven images did not involve his daughter, and 16 videos involved his daughter with other children, filmed covertly.
Judge Sellars said one of the videos was of an unidentified girl filmed without her knowledge at a swimming pool.
High degree of planning
Judge Sellars said an aggravating feature of Cowden’s offending was the high degree of planning and premeditation, reflected in his setting up a camera or phone and filming his daughter.
“There was clearly extensive grooming. You instructed her what to do. As I said, you normalised sexual activity, and there was a concerning level of manipulation.”
In one of the videos, Cowden was seen reminding his daughter not to tell her mother. He also “rehearsed” with her what to do if her brother came into the room.
“In one of the videos, her brother did come in, and it appears after that that she hid. She was obviously well trained by you,” Judge Sellars said.
The scale of offending involved repeated humiliation, objectification and sexualisation of a very young child over an extended period.
The judge considered the breach of trust a “significantly serious” aggravating feature.
She said the harm was not confined to his daughter, because there was an “obviously profound effect” on his son and the children’s mother.
“This has enormous impact that they will feel for the rest of their lives.”
From a sentencing starting point of 25 years and two months, Judge Sellars awarded discounts for Cowden’s early guilty pleas, previous good character, remorse and prospects for rehabilitation to arrive at the 13-year sentence.
She agreed with the Crown that, because of Cowden’s “highly manipulative behaviour”, a protection order was necessary to safeguard the victim.
*Pseudonym used in District Court decision. The offender’s name is suppressed to protect victims.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.
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