{"id":435611,"date":"2026-05-19T21:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/435611\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T21:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:14:08","slug":"hahei-locals-divided-80-year-old-sex-offenders-house-smeared-with-the-word-pedo-and-bottles-thrown-into-bedroom-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/435611\/","title":{"rendered":"H\u0101hei locals divided: 80-year-old sex offender\u2019s house smeared with the word \u2018Pedo\u2019 and bottles thrown into bedroom windows"},"content":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re outraged by Skelton\u2019s offending, which he denies happened, and also that his victim and her family are too traumatised to return to their H\u0101hei holiday home.<\/p>\n

The businessman said some locals have accused him of being a vigilante and of spreading hate.<\/p>\n

\"H\u0101heiH\u0101hei locals are divided over the return of convicted sex offender James Skelton (inset) to the village, including some who have vandalised his holiday home. New Zealand Herald composite photo<\/p>\n

Others who want rid of Skelton have been responsible for repeated attacks on his bach; painting the word \u201cPedo\u201d on his holiday home, as well as throwing bottles through several windows.<\/p>\n

Skelton served a 10-month home detention sentence in Auckland after being convicted in November 2024.<\/p>\n

Local businessman Shaun Jackson said that despite the 80-year-old serving his sentence, he didn\u2019t deserve a second chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cA family has been driven away from their home out of fear, while a convicted sex offender remains… in the community,\u201d Jackson told the Herald.<\/p>\n

\"LocalLocal businessman Shaun Jackson wants convicted sex offender James Skelton (inset) gone from H\u0101hei. New Zealand Herald composite image<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thinks he\u2019s been misjudged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a convicted paedophile… the trust is broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want the community to feel safe. I will carry on doing this until he leaves this town. He will be leaving before me.\u201d<\/p>\n

An unwelcomed return: Sex offender\u2019s holiday home vandalised<\/p>\n

Skelton\u2019s post-sentence conditions for six months included not entering H\u0101hei without prior written approval from his probation officer.<\/p>\n

Other post-detention conditions included attending an assessment for the Safe network programme as directed by a probation officer, and attending and completing any counselling, treatment or programme as recommended by the assessment, as directed by and to the satisfaction of a probation officer.<\/p>\n

\"AA neighbour of James Skelton says she and her 6-year-old daughter don’t feel safe living next door to him.<\/p>\n

On March 7, days after completing the post-sentence conditions, Skelton returned to H\u0101hei, the community that watches him as he watches them.<\/p>\n

A post was then made on social media informing residents of the Coromandel settlement, where the population is about 300 and swells to more than 3000 during summer, about Skelton\u2019s return.<\/p>\n

Among those concerned was the father of a young mother who rents the property next to Skelton\u2019s holiday home.<\/p>\n

Sophie, not her real name, claimed her father was given a frosty reception when he approached the convicted sex offender about his return.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told my father to \u2018f*** off\u2019,\u201d she claimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he probably believes that if he didn\u2019t live next to a woman with a young child, he could quietly sneak back into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she doesn\u2019t feel safe living with her 6-year-old daughter next to the convicted sex offender.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Skelton returned to the Coromandel village where the offending happened days after his sentence conditions ended.<\/p>\n

Sophie has lived on the street for two years and said she is part of a \u201cbeautiful\u201d community where everyone gets along.<\/p>\n

She claimed she felt unsettled after Skelton recently chopped back some trees and removed bushes on the border of her rental and his holiday home.<\/p>\n

With no fence separating the two properties, Sophie said her privacy has been taken away.<\/p>\n

\"SophieSophie says her privacy has been taken away by James Skelton after he trimmed trees and bushes bordering two properties. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n

She is now concerned about her daughter and her friends playing anywhere near Skelton\u2019s house, running around in their togs and using the outdoor shower.<\/p>\n

One morning, as she was driving her daughter to school, Skelton stood at the end of his driveway, with his hands on his hips, glaring at her, \u201cstaunching me out\u201d, she claimed. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter said, \u2018Mummy, why is that man staring at us?\u2019 I said, \u2018Don\u2019t look at him\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SophieSophie says she won’t let her daughter use the outdoor shower of their rental or run around in her togs because of their neighbour. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Skelton\u2019s house was vandalised with the word \u201cPedo\u201d painted on it numerous times.<\/p>\n

During the evening of Anzac Day, bottles were pelted at Skelton\u2019s home, smashing his bedroom windows. The next morning, Sophie claimed she saw her neighbour taking photos of her house. <\/p>\n

She told him she and her partner were sleeping and didn\u2019t hear anything. Skelton told her, the attack sounded \u201clike a bomb went off\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pensioner offender was viewed as a \u2018trusted grandfather figure\u2019 to his victim<\/p>\n

Skelton had met his victim, then aged 9, and her family in H\u0101hei.<\/p>\n

Both families have holiday homes there.<\/p>\n

The then 76-year-old made friends with the girl\u2019s family and was \u201ctrusted like a grandfather\u201d, according to Judge Anna-Marie Skellern\u2019s written sentencing notes.<\/p>\n

Skelton was found guilty by a jury at the North Shore District Court on two counts of doing an indecent act on the girl, with offending relating to incidents in April and May 2022.<\/p>\n

Skelton denied the offending.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Skelton met the young girl he sexually abused in H\u0101hei. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n

Judge Skellern\u2019s written sentencing notes from the November 5, 2024, sentencing hearing outlined the impact of the offending on the girl and her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact on the family has been significant to say the least,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe victim\u2019s father and mother speak of the severe impact on the family, their feelings of disbelief, their feelings of anger, their feelings of being deceived and their deep sadness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey refer to the changes in this child and the overwhelming, as I would put it, sense of helplessness that they feel in respect of the changes to their family dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge said the parents had taken various measures to \u201ctry and ameliorate some of the damage\u201d, including therapy for their daughter.<\/p>\n

The child had \u201congoing fear\u201d and had been diagnosed with PTSD.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Skelton sexually abused a young girl who now has “ongoing fear” and PTSD.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe victim herself speaks of her issues with sleeping and the bad memories that now attach to what was one of her special places in the world,\u201d Judge Skellern wrote.<\/p>\n

Skelton received a 10% sentence reduction for his previous \u201cgood character\u201d and a further 5% reduction for offering to pay a $12,000 \u201cemotional harm reparation payment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jackson said it was \u201cabsolutely disgusting\u201d that such a reduction had been made to someone \u201cwho has committed a criminal sexual act on a child, destroyed their life and taken away their innocence\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced that if National is re-elected into Government at this year\u2019s election it would scrap good character assessments for sex offenders at sentencing for all sexual crimes.<\/p>\n

No order was made for him to be added to the Child Sex Offender Register.<\/p>\n

\u2018Standing up for her\u2019: Why businessman wants Skelton out of his settlement<\/p>\n

Jackson said he, and other locals, are fed up with what they believe is Skelton\u2019s lack of accountability and remorse.<\/p>\n

He wants the convicted sex offender out of H\u0101hei and is making no apologies for his public stance.<\/p>\n

\"H\u0101heiH\u0101hei resident Shaun Jackson believes James Skelton should be on the Child Sex Offender Register. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t acceptable. People who stay silent are supporting him, and that\u2019s not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 56-year-old father of two said he wants to keep his community safe and wants Skelton to show remorse for his actions.<\/p>\n

Not everyone feels the same as Jackson; some locals claim Skelton has been punished and suggest the businessman should let the matter drop.<\/p>\n

Jackson claimed he has been \u201cshut down\u201d on local Facebook community pages by what he calls \u201cwoke\u201d moderators.<\/p>\n

\"AA poster of convicted sex offender James Skelton that was distributed throughout H\u0101hei before being taken down.<\/p>\n

Posters he has put up around H\u0101hei outing Skelton as a sex offender have also been taken down.<\/p>\n

But Jackson said he wants to do the right thing by Skelton\u2019s victim and her family. He also said some H\u0101hei residents \u201cfeel threatened and unsafe\u201d by Skelton\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should this poor girl and her family suffer? While others have their heads in the sand, I am standing up for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkelton has taken away the girl\u2019s innocence and she is now too scared to come back here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson also said he was stunned that not everyone convicted of a sexual offence against a child was automatically added to the Child Sex Offender Register.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law needs to change so the victim isn\u2019t living near her abuser.\u201d<\/p>\n

Close friends of the victim\u2019s family also told the Herald that Skelton\u2019s return to H\u0101hei to use his holiday home had retraumatised the girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can\u2019t go back to the holiday house, she can\u2019t walk to the beach,\u201d the couple said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is broken and living a life sentence. If our system allows a child to live in fear while a convicted sex offender can return to a normal life where the abuse occurred, justice has failed her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ShaunShaun Jackson confronted James Skelton about chopping foliage on the boundary with his neighbour. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n

Jackson recently confronted Skelton, asking why he had chopped down the trees on the border between his holiday home and Sophie\u2019s rented home.<\/p>\n

In an audio recording of the conversation, which has been supplied to the Herald, Jackson also asked Skelton why he had returned to H\u0101hei.<\/p>\n

Skelton said they were his trees, adding: \u201cI don\u2019t give a s*** about her privacy; she\u2019s renting and can find somewhere else to live\u201d.<\/p>\n

The convicted sex offender also claimed the family of the young girl had lied during the case.<\/p>\n

Skelton\u2019s wife, Rose, can also be heard on the recording claiming that fighting the charges cost $400,000 in legal fees and that they weren\u2019t planning to leave H\u0101hei any time soon.<\/p>\n

Skelton\u2019s son: \u2018Everyone in the family supports him\u2019<\/p>\n

Skelton wasn\u2019t at home when the Herald visited.<\/p>\n

He later made contact and left a phone message cautioning the Herald not to return to his property.<\/p>\n

His son, Andrew, has spoken out in support of his father and also in disbelief at how his father and family property have been targeted by some H\u0101hei locals. <\/p>\n

Andrew said his father pruned and maintained the trees and bushes on the boundary of the property with Sophie\u2019s rental every two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s a terrible situation for everyone,\u201d Andrew said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many victims here. My 80-year-old mother is living in total fear \u2013 she is a lovely lady \u2013 and so is my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his parents, both aged 80, were worried about the vandalism to their holiday home.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Skelton’s family support him and doesn’t believe he is a paedophile.<\/p>\n

He said they were both asleep when bottles were pelted through their bedroom windows about 11.30pm on Anzac Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine if a bottle hit him on the head? My mother is traumatised and thought the house was going to be burnt down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to think there is a way forward, but I know it is difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew said he believed his father was an innocent man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see my father as a paedophile; everyone in the family supports him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sat through the trial… the whole thing is traumatic for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

SEXUAL HARM <\/p>\n

Where to get help: If it\u2019s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111. If you\u2019ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk<\/a> confidentially, any time 24\/7: Call 0800 044 334, Text 4334<\/p>\n

\u2022 For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz<\/a> You can also contact HELP, a 24-hour service for survivors of recent or historical assault and those disclosing abuse for the first time. Call 0800 623 1700, Text 8236<\/p>\n

\u2022 For more information visit helpauckland.co.nz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Alternatively contact your local police station \u2013 click here for a list.<\/a><\/p>\n

If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it\u2019s not your fault. <\/p>\n

Carolyne Meng-Yee<\/a> is an Auckland-based investigative journalist who won Best Documentary at the Voyager Media Awards in 2022. She worked for the Herald on Sunday from 2007-2011 and rejoined the Herald in 2016 after working as an award-winning current affairs producer at TVNZ\u2019s 60 Minutes, 20\/20 and Sunday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They\u2019re outraged by Skelton\u2019s offending, which he denies happened, and also that his victim and her family are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[125678,123311,19340,34384,95,7681,68692,42126,25808,2109,6868,2219,42835,12627,189,85458,10053,296,14054,12514,13840,20829,42127,111,43,139,69,15222,2682,1523,222961,13120,766,1527,7680,182649,222960,544,223,25447,43272,85539,4524,540,5157,102,27630],"class_list":["post-435611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-80yearold","tag-9yearold","tag-abused","tag-alone","tag-and","tag-bedroom","tag-bottles","tag-carolyne","tag-divided","tag-family","tag-girl","tag-gone","tag-grandfather","tag-hhei","tag-holiday","tag-hotspot","tag-house","tag-into","tag-james","tag-leave","tag-like","tag-locals","tag-mengyee","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-offenders","tag-others","tag-over","tag-pedo","tag-remain","tag-reports","tag-return","tag-sex","tag-skelton","tag-smeared","tag-some","tag-the","tag-thrown","tag-traumatised","tag-trusted","tag-want","tag-where","tag-windows","tag-with","tag-word"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}