![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JMQFV8_OJ_SINGLE_USEDoctor_Assault_3_jpeg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nWarning: This story discusses details of sexual offending that some may find disturbing.<\/p>\n
A doctor’s predatory sexual offending against three girls over more than three decades has left their lives shattered, with one saying the abuse is “all I have ever known”.<\/p>\n
Hamilton doctor William James Reeder sat in the dock of the Hamilton District Court for sentencing on 15 sexual assault charges as Judge Arthur Tompkins labelled his remorse, penned in a letter, as “superficial … [and] redolent with self-pity”.<\/p>\n
Reeder held his head in his hands at times as the victims detailed the effects his sexual deviancy had on them.<\/p>\n
The 79-year-old’s youngest victim, whom he offended against from childhood through to her late teens, said she now didn’t know who she was and constantly lived in survival mode.<\/p>\n
“It was all I have ever known. This was simply my life.”<\/p>\n
As a young child, she developed physical, compulsive behaviours to survive, and they had manifested themselves in ways that she was still discovering.<\/p>\n
She thought she had been strong throughout the offending years, figured her behaviour was normal, but now doesn’t believe it will ever stop.<\/p>\n
“I have been using physical pain to survive since childhood.<\/p>\n
“I thought I was coping, but my body is making it clear that I am not.”<\/p>\n
She was in a constant state of anxiety, causing her chest to be persistently tight, and her panic attacks were so intense she would vomit afterwards.<\/p>\n
“I genuinely cannot remember the last time I breathed easily,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I am under relentless stress. There’s no part of my day where I feel safe.”<\/p>\n
Months after revealing Reeder’s abuse, she said she almost gave up on life entirely.<\/p>\n
“I don’t feel confident that things will get better.”<\/p>\n
She told Reeder he had not only stolen her past but also her future.<\/p>\n
“The only thing left is justice, and I am asking for exactly that.”<\/p>\n
According to the Healthpages’ website, Reeder ran an “integrative medical clinic” in Hamilton, at which he provided a range of options for chronic conditions “for which no suitable or acceptable mainstream option is available or successful”.<\/p>\n
He had also previously worked in family medicine.<\/p>\n
The Medical Council has confirmed he had been a practising doctor for 54 years.<\/p>\n
At his sentencing, the court heard his offending stretched from the late 80s through to 2024.<\/p>\n
‘Sexually predatious and cruel’<\/p>\n
Crown prosecutor James Lewis characterised Reeder’s offending as “sexually predatious and cruel”, where he used his “superior” position as a doctor to offend against the victims.<\/p>\n
“The defendant was held in high esteem by these families,” he said.<\/p>\n
Reeder’s offending was consistent while he forced his victims to suffer in silence.<\/p>\n
Lewis pushed for a starting point of six years’ jail with a 25 percent discount for his guilty pleas, which would send Reeder to prison.<\/p>\n
He argued Reeder didn’t deserve any previous good character, given how long his offending had stretched.<\/p>\n
Commenting on Reeder’s background and psychological reports, Lewis said any credit he was seeking for that should be offset by the fact “he is very much an intelligent man”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr William James Reeder in the dock at Hamilton District Court, which heard his offending was consistent and he forced his victims to suffer in silence.<\/p>\n
Open Justice\/Belinda Feek<\/p>\n
“He is a doctor. He has been practising for a significant period of time. I understand that he is an obstetrician.<\/p>\n
“In order to become a doctor, there are stringent checks and balances to ensure that you are fit to practise,” Lewis told the judge.<\/p>\n
“The defendant passed those checks and balances on many occasions over many years, and by virtue of his intelligence of the position that he held in the community as a doctor, as a leader, he very much knew that what he had done was wrong.”<\/p>\n
Defence counsel Russell Boot argued home detention was appropriate, stating that, while not wanting to minimise his offending, it wasn’t the worst of its kind.<\/p>\n
Reeder was also 79 years old, had no previous convictions, and had lost his employment and reputation.<\/p>\n
While the offending did stretch over multiple decades, sporadically, he should still get credit for his character before it began in his early 40s, Boot argued.<\/p>\n
He said a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) was “unwarranted” given his age and Reeder had expressed a willingness to address his rehabilitative needs.<\/p>\n
He also had a number of “medical conditions” that meant prison “would be harsher on him”.<\/p>\n
‘Superficial remorse’<\/p>\n
Judge Tompkins agreed with Lewis’ description of Reeder’s offending – that he “used his superior position to sexually offend”.<\/p>\n
He praised the victims for giving their statements in court, describing them as “acts of very considerable courage”.<\/p>\n
Judge Tompkins agreed with all of the Crown’s submissions, adopting an overall starting point of six years’ jail, before allowing a 25 percent discount for his guilty pleas.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JMQFV8_OJ_SINGLE_USEDoctor_Assault_2_jpeg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A younger Dr William James Reeder pictured in his LinkedIn photo.<\/p>\n
Open Justice\/LinkedIn<\/p>\n
He noted Reeder’s comments in a pre-sentence report, which he said “records little, if any, insight into his offending and only superficial remorse”.<\/p>\n
He’d also written a letter to the court, but that was, too, chastised by the judge.<\/p>\n
“Indeed, that letter, as I read it, is redolent with self-pity.<\/p>\n
“Although he describes himself as being sick to the core to realise the impacts on his victims … in my view, that insight and remorse are best described as superficial.”<\/p>\n
Judge Tompkins jailed Reeder for four-and-a-half years and imposed an MPI of 50%, citing the “enormous and devastating” effect and scale of his offending.<\/p>\n
The family of one of the victims told NZME that, given the length of Reeder’s offending, they were concerned there were possibly more victims.<\/p>\n
“We urge anyone with any information or concerns to speak to the police,” they said.<\/p>\n
‘A position of significant trust’<\/p>\n
Responding to questions by NZME, Medical Council chairman Dr Kenneth Clark confirmed Reeder was first registered in New Zealand in 1971.<\/p>\n
His practising certificate expired in November 2025.<\/p>\n
Clark said the council’s primary purpose was to ensure doctors “are competent and fit to practise”.<\/p>\n
“Doctors hold a position of significant trust.<\/p>\n
“The public is entitled to expect doctors to act with integrity \u2026 and uphold high standards of ethical and professional conduct.<\/p>\n
“Serious sexual offending falls far below the conduct … and professionalism expected of doctors in Aotearoa, New Zealand and is directly relevant to council’s consideration of a doctor’s fitness to practise.”<\/p>\n
The council would step in to raise concerns where it could, he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“Privacy considerations limit what council can say about any individual notifications.”<\/p>\n
The council and police can share information and when the council becomes aware of a criminal investigation, it liaises with the police.<\/p>\n
“At times we may not be able to take any action whilst a police investigation is underway in order not to prejudice this.”<\/p>\n
However, while the criminal proceedings took precedence, the council would monitor any situation that posed a risk and “take regulatory action where necessary to address any risk to public safety”.<\/p>\n
Where to get help:<\/p>\n
NZ Police.Victim Support 0800 842 846.Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00.Rape Prevention Education.Empowerment Trust.HELP (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.Safe to talk: 0800 044 334.Tautoko T\u0101ne Male Survivors Aotearoa.Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4LTMYVF_copyright_image_291122.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n