A 79-year-old woman has been sentenced for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy between the 1st July 1984 and 31st August 1984.
Hazel Templeton from Comber area was interviewed on 25th April 2023 and subsequently charged following a report to the Public Prosecution Service. After initially denying the allegations and attempting to place blame on the reporting man, who was a child at the time, she later pled guilty to four counts of indecent assault on a male and three counts of inciting gross indecency with a child.
She was sentenced today, Tuesday 11th March, at Laganside Court to two years and nine months, serving half in custody and half on licence. She will also be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Detective Constable Douglas said:
“Hazel Templeton is a child predator who betrayed her position of trust, manipulated and took advantage of a young boy who trusted her.
“She preyed on him, groomed him and sexually exploited him for her own gratification.
“As a result of this abuse the victim has suffered with mental health issues his whole adult life. While bringing this crime to the attention of the Police required a concerted effort on his behalf, we are satisfied with today’s verdict. Even though these crimes occurred more than 40 years ago, we have shown today that PSNI are capable and prepared to listen to witnesses in order to pursue cases of non-recent child sexual abuse.
“There is still a societal stigma surrounding male victims of abuse, especially that of a sexual nature. I hope today’s court outcome will demonstrate that young boys are just as vulnerable and that there is no shame for them to carry. Suffering in silence is never the answer, abuse is never the victim’s fault.
“Reports of non-recent child abuse in Northern Ireland are on the rise as more and more people break their silence and come forward. We would ask people not to keep the secrets of your abuser.
“We will continue to work around the clock to bring child predators before the courts and would encourage anyone who may have been abused in a similar way to come forward. There is no need to suffer in silence.
“Child abuse cannot continue in Northern Ireland, we will do everything in our power to stop predators in their tracks and get victims the justice they deserve.“If anyone feels they have been targeted, abused or have had things happen to them in their past, please come forward and talk to us. We will help and support you.”
Templeton’s victim has chosen to speak out anonymously to encourage reporting from more boys and men. He says:
“For so many years all I felt was absolute confusion. The basis of any childhood is that you can trust adults. The need to keep a secret of that magnitude from friends and family led to me shutting down. I become paranoid that people would think less of me, especially as I entered adulthood.
“The teenage years can be challenging in the best of circumstances. However, it’s a sad truth that children who are abused can find the challenge unbearable. She stole my childhood, she is charged with abuse offences but I see it as theft.
“My message to young boys and men today is that you are not alone, the humiliation that you might imagine is probably just that, imagination. Consider how you might react if a friend came to you with the same problem, how would you treat them? There are people out there who will treat you with compassion. You shouldn’t listen to the perpetrator as I did. You are not complicit in what happened to you. You deserve to be heard. Tell someone and see what they say to you, you may be surprised at their reaction. Living alone, in silence, with terrifying secrets only hinders your life. I am speaking from experience.
“The investigating officer working my case was extremely compassionate and at no point was it like anything I’d imagined. If it hadn’t been for finally getting the police involved, I couldn’t have hoped to have achieved justice after so much time had passed.
“Justice will probably not bring a moment of crystal clear catharcism like you see in the movies. But it does signal the beginning of the end of the journey. Justice can enable you to start to process what has happened to you. It shows that other members of your society, having heard your story, have absolved you of those feelings that weighed you down.
“Justice allows you to start to accept what has happened and to rebuild your life. The hardest part for me was admitting that I was a victim. Today’s outcome doesn’t change what happened in the past but it has opened the doors for a better future without the weight of carrying 40 years of secrets.
“It is up to me how to proceed from here. But I have that choice because I refused to give in to an abuser, an offender and a criminal; because I spoke out and because there are people who will spend their time working for you, people who have sworn to protect you; people who you can trust.”