Frank Walmsley
| Frank Walmsley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frank Russell Walmsley New Zealand |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Frank Russell Walmsley (born 1958/1959), dubbed the Ogre of Oamaru[1] and known as New Zealand's worst sex offender[2], is a former Child, Youth and Family caregiver, alternative medicine practitioner and holistic life coach. He was on trial for 101 charges, 98 of them sexual, against eight young teenagers, two of whom were under 12.[3] The victims were seven young girls and a boy. The offending periods were between 1995 and 2000, during which he ran Oamaru's only Child, Youth and Family home, and from 2005 to 2012, when he served as a life coach to young girls. In 2016, after a highly publicized investigation and trial, he was convicted of 52 of these charges, including 12 rape[4], 9 sexual conduct with minors including girls under 12, and three assault charges, and was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment, 10 years without parole.[5][6][1]
Background
Walmsley, a father of three, was described by former neighbors as a family man and well-regarded member of the local community in Oamaru.[7] After six years experience as foster parents, he and his wife were given a contract to run Oamaru's only Child, Youth and Family home, where they were trusted with the care of over 70 children and young teenagers from 1995 to 2000, until a sexual abuse allegation, although discharged at the time, forced them to resign their CFY contract. The Walmsleys' reputation and facade of happiness kept rumors about sexual abuse from being pursued, on the grounds that the teens were troubled, difficult to deal with and seeking attention.[8]
Abuse at Child, Youth and Family Home
Most of the offenses at CFY occurred over an extended period of time, as the girls had no one to complain to. Walmsley used to maintain a rule that the teens would have to sit on what he called the "brown punishment chair" whenever they locked the shower door. One victim said he used to demand a goodnight kiss and hug every night that were far from fatherly in nature, and used to take the opportunity to grope her.[9] From there, the offenses usually escalated following a pattern. He would typically buy them gifts, clothing, jewelry, fast food, cigarettes and alcohol behind his wife's back, and escalate to more serious offending with each victim.[10]
One of the girls testified she was abused on a consistent basis during her time at CFY. Once she was approached in the shower one morning when the house was empty. Walmsley pulled her towel off and raped her. After she tried to fight back, he threw her head into the hand basin and raped her again. With her head shoved in the sink, she tried to drown herself by turning the tap on with her free hand. Twenty years later, the police was shown scars that remained on the back of her head when crashing against the tap during the assault. She ran away from the house that day, returning at night to the house's gate, refusing to go back inside. Walmsley, hearing her cry, went out to fetch her, raping her for the third time that same day. She started drinking heavily and using drugs to escape, and once awoke from an LSD-induced stupor to find Walmsley had dressed her in an air stewardess uniform while raping her. At the time, she was told not to tell anybody because nobody would believe her, and spent 20 years trying to forget what had happened.[9]
Another girl testified he sneaked into her bedroom at night and slept on her bed. When she was sent to a room without lock, she started placing her bed against the door to block his entrance at night.[9] A third victim said he forced her to perform countless sex acts on him, even forcing her to dance naked to a Britney Spears routine, to "play dress up", and to wear his wife's "lacy, yucky underwear". She was raped repeatedly in the bathroom, her bedroom and in the bushes in the park behind the house.[11] Before one of them, she tried hiding in his wardrobe, but he found her.[12]
Abuse as a Life Coach
After the end of his contract with CFY, Walmsley started training alternative medicine and Emotional Freedom Technique, and between 2005 and 2012, under the guise of a life coach, he gained the trust of young girls' parents to take them under his care. He allegedly abused and raped four more teenage girls during this period, one as young as 11. His offending pattern continued the same; he bought them gifts and then escalated to more serious offences with each one of them. All four victims from his period as a life coach alleged he took photos of them naked, and were also able to describe a black vibrator he used on them, which belonged to his wife.
After a victim filed a complaint in 2012, the police renewed their investigation into his time as a caregiver. The original complaint from 2000 was re-investigated and more victims then came forward.[10]
Investigation
The complainants in 2000 and 2012 did not know each other, yet "remarkably they all had a similar story to tell".[3]
There were no photos of naked girls found in Walmsley's laptop during a police investigation in his home in 2014, however, there was a software which could be used to securely delete files. Search history in another installed program, used as a file-sharing app, showed searches for the terms "vidio (sic)", "child", "underage", "sex", "children of the night", "videos", "pre-teen", and "pre-adolescent".
The eight separate victims all described the same or very similar types of "graphic", "unusual" and "compelling" details of the offenses, however, the Defense counsel questioned the credibility of the complainants and accused them of a possible collusion.[10] He recalled they were former troubled children, and stated that there was still room for doubt claiming that "the rules of law are that the accused is entitled to the benefit of that doubt."[3]
Conviction
In April 2016, the jury in the High Court at Timaru declared Walmsley guilty of 52 charges, of which 28 were reached by a majority decision. He was found guilty of all the 12 rape charges he was facing, and of all the 23 charges against the CYF children. He was equally declared guilty of 13 charges of unlawful sex connection, 11 of indecency, nine of sexual conduct with minors, including two with girls under 12, two attempts at sexual conduct with minors, one attempted rape, one attempted unlawful sexual connection, and three charges unrelated to sexual offending - two of assault and one of assault with a weapon.[1]
External links
- Former CYF caregiver and rapist Frank Walmsley sentenced in Timaru
- Otago Daily Times
- New Zealand Herald
- Newstalk ZB
- Radio NZ
- Newshub New Zealand Archived 2021-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Former CYF caregiver and rapist Frank Walmsley sentenced in Timaru". The Timaru Herald. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "CYF caregiver jailed for horrific sex abuse". Newshub. 24 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Walmsley trial: Victim tried to drown herself during alleged rape". Stuff. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "Frank Walmsley guilty of 12 counts of rape". New Zealand Herald. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "'This man has destroyed my life'". Otago Daily Times. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "Walmsley trial: Defence says 'made up' sexual abuse story spiralled out of control". Stuff. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "Sexual predator once well regarded". Otago Daily Times. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "Walmsley trial: The evidence that 'simply couldn't be invented'". Stuff. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Walmsley trial: Girl allegedly woke from LSD stupor to find caregiver raping her". Stuff. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Ex-caregiver guilty of rapes". Otago Daily Times. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "Walmsley trial: Alleged rape victim forced to dress up". Otago Daily Times. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ "Walmsley trial: Condoms given to girl in health class allegedly used in her rape". Stuff. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
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