Graham Capill
Encyclopedia
Graham John Capill is a former New Zealand
Christian
leader and politician. He served as the first leader of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party
, stepping down in 2003. In 2005 he was convicted of multiple sexual offences against girls under 12 years of age and sentenced to nine years imprisonment. He was released on parole in August 2011, having served six years of that sentence.
, his parents being Christian missionaries
. Most of his youth was spent in New Zealand, mainly in the city of Christchurch
. He was educated at Middleton Grange School
, a large evangelical
Protestant school in that city, where his father, Donald Capill, was Vice-Principal for most of the seventies, and his brothers, David, Murray and Timothy, attended the same school. He has described his religious beliefs as Presbyterian
by conviction, although he chose to attend an Anglican church because his own was too accepting of "false teachers and those who are sexually permissive".
Initially, Capill worked in the aviation industry, qualifying as a pilot
and an avionics
engineer. Later, Capill decided to become a minister, and studied towards a Bachelor of Divinity
degree at the Reformed Theological College
in Geelong, Australia
. He gained his degree in 1986, and returned to New Zealand to complete an internship at Wellington
before becoming a minister of the Reformed Church of Dunedin in 1988. Capill also gained a law degree from the University of Canterbury
in 1997.
Capill is married to Judith and has nine children.
, and stepped down in 2003. He was succeeded as party leader by Ewen McQueen
. In November 2004 Capill resigned from the Christian Heritage citing differences of opinion over the party's new direction since his retirement.
in the Southern Communications Centre of the New Zealand Police
. Within a year he had been moved to be a police prosecutor
at the Christchurch District Court
, but was stood down in early 2005 pending criminal charges.
McNally, who had no previous connection to the case, received a two-year prison sentence for the assault.
On 1 April 2005 name suppression was lifted and Capill pleaded guilty to a charge of indecently assaulting
an eight-year old girl on four occasions. These events took place between the years of 2001 and 2002, while Capill was still leader of Christian Heritage. His activities were brought to an end by the Rev Wally Behan, vicar of St John's Anglican Church, Latimer Square, Christchurch, the church which the Capill family attended. Rev Behan was acting on information received from some of the victims. Further charges of rape and indecent assault against girls aged under 12 (committed during the 1990s) followed. As Capill had strongly condemned "sexual perversion" throughout his political career, the revelations had particular impact. Capill's conduct was swiftly condemned by Christian Heritage.
On 28 June 2005 Capill entered guilty pleas on a further three charges of indecent assault, one of rape, and one of unlawful sexual connection, all committed against girls under the age of 12. Newspaper reports now describe him as "a sexual predator", and he was remanded in custody
while awaiting sentencing. On 14 July 2005 Capill was sentenced to imprisonment for 9 years. Prior to his sentencing, he sent an e-mail to supporters, asking for forgiveness and that they pray for a light sentence, also claiming that the sex with one of the young girls was "consensual". His lawyer said that the e-mail, intended to gain sympathy and support, backfired and was ill-advised. Judge Kerr said the email sent by Capill to supporters demonstrated he had yet to fully appreciate the enormity of his offending.
On 16 August he appealed the sentence to the dismay of his critics. The appeal was abandoned on 31 January 2006.
Capill had earned a law degree before the revelation of his offending. On 9 August 2006, he was forbidden to practice law and fined $3123 at a disciplinary hearing (although Capill had never practiced law privately, and described his legal studies as a "hobby"). Concerns were raised that Capill's wife and children might be unfairly burdened by this latest development, due to his inability to earn income as a prisoner.
Later that year, Capill complained that Rolleston Prison guards were interfering with photocopying and access to a university tutor for his Massey University
papers, and not letting him swap children's diaries with his wife. However, another Rolleston Prison inmate who was also studying Massey University papers at the same time as Capill argued that prison guards behaved similarly toward other inmates.
On 3 October 2006, his successor, Ewen McQueen
, announced the dissolution of Christian Heritage New Zealand, blaming Capill's conviction and disgrace for its demise.
In April 2008, antagonism was expressed when it was revealed that Capill was due to appear at a Parole Board hearing in June 2008. On June 27, 2008, it was reported that Capill's parole application had been unsuccessful due to opposition from his victims who felt there had been insufficient preventative counselling, and that the Department of Corrections and Rolleston Prison would not enrol him on Kia Marama, a child sexual abuse prevention education and counselling course, until he had served two-thirds of his sentence (circa 2011).
He was granted parole in August 2011 after having completed the nine-month Kia Marama child-sex offenders programme and having been assessed as posing a low/medium long term risk of sexual reoffending.
However, as with other paroled and released sexual offenders, there are a number of conditional aspects to Capill's release. He will be required to report to a parole officer when dealing with accommodation and employment concerns and will experience restricted mobility and autonomy in those contexts. He is forbidden from communicating with his former victims and associating with those under sixteen unless there are approved adult caregivers in the vicinity.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
leader and politician. He served as the first leader of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party
Christian Heritage New Zealand
The Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand was a New Zealand political party espousing Christian values...
, stepping down in 2003. In 2005 he was convicted of multiple sexual offences against girls under 12 years of age and sentenced to nine years imprisonment. He was released on parole in August 2011, having served six years of that sentence.
Early life
Capill was born in western AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, his parents being Christian missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. Most of his youth was spent in New Zealand, mainly in the city of Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
. He was educated at Middleton Grange School
Middleton Grange School
Middleton Grange School in Christchurch, New Zealand, is a Christian co-educational state integrated school for Year 1 to 13. It is currently New Zealand's largest evangelical Christian school .- History :...
, a large evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Protestant school in that city, where his father, Donald Capill, was Vice-Principal for most of the seventies, and his brothers, David, Murray and Timothy, attended the same school. He has described his religious beliefs as Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
by conviction, although he chose to attend an Anglican church because his own was too accepting of "false teachers and those who are sexually permissive".
Initially, Capill worked in the aviation industry, qualifying as a pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and an avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
engineer. Later, Capill decided to become a minister, and studied towards a Bachelor of Divinity
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
degree at the Reformed Theological College
Reformed Theological College
The Reformed Theological College is the theological college supported by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, the Reformed Churches of New Zealand and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia...
in Geelong, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He gained his degree in 1986, and returned to New Zealand to complete an internship at Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
before becoming a minister of the Reformed Church of Dunedin in 1988. Capill also gained a law degree from the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
in 1997.
Capill is married to Judith and has nine children.
Christian Heritage Party
The Christian Heritage Party, founded in 1989, held its first convention in 1990. Capill was officially appointed the new party's leader in June of that year. He remained leader of the party through five elections, but the party failed to win any seats. Capill announced his retirement shortly after the 2002 general electionNew Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, and stepped down in 2003. He was succeeded as party leader by Ewen McQueen
Ewen McQueen
Ewen McQueen is a New Zealand politician who is currently a member of the New Zealand National Party. He was the third and final leader of Christian Heritage New Zealand, a religious political party in New Zealand that is now defunct.-Early years:...
. In November 2004 Capill resigned from the Christian Heritage citing differences of opinion over the party's new direction since his retirement.
Police work
After leaving politics, he was employed as a dispatcherDispatcher
Dispatchers are communications personnel responsible for receiving and transmitting pure and reliable messages, tracking vehicles and equipment, and recording other important information...
in the Southern Communications Centre of the New Zealand Police
New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police is the national police force of New Zealand, responsible for enforcing criminal law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout New Zealand...
. Within a year he had been moved to be a police prosecutor
Police prosecutor
In the judicial system of New Zealand, a police prosecutor is a lawyer employed by the police to present cases in district court, as the counsel for the prosecution. This may be a sworn member of the police or, in larger courts, a civilian lawyer employed as a non-sworn member of the police...
at the Christchurch District Court
District Courts of New Zealand
The District Courts of New Zealand are low-level trial courts in New Zealand. The District Courts can hear civil claims up to $200,000 and criminal cases involving relatively minor offences...
, but was stood down in early 2005 pending criminal charges.
Indecent assault and rape imprisonment
On 23 March 2005 Capill appeared in the Christchurch District Court charged with indecently assaulting a girl aged under 12. On leaving the court he was assaulted ("punched and left whimpering on the ground") by local sickness beneficiary Daniel McNally, a former boxer. The media referred to Capill, who was then under a name-suppression order, as "a prominent New Zealander".McNally, who had no previous connection to the case, received a two-year prison sentence for the assault.
On 1 April 2005 name suppression was lifted and Capill pleaded guilty to a charge of indecently assaulting
Indecent assault
Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in many jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime.Indecent assault was an offence in England and Wales under sections 14 and 15 the Sexual Offences Act 1956...
an eight-year old girl on four occasions. These events took place between the years of 2001 and 2002, while Capill was still leader of Christian Heritage. His activities were brought to an end by the Rev Wally Behan, vicar of St John's Anglican Church, Latimer Square, Christchurch, the church which the Capill family attended. Rev Behan was acting on information received from some of the victims. Further charges of rape and indecent assault against girls aged under 12 (committed during the 1990s) followed. As Capill had strongly condemned "sexual perversion" throughout his political career, the revelations had particular impact. Capill's conduct was swiftly condemned by Christian Heritage.
On 28 June 2005 Capill entered guilty pleas on a further three charges of indecent assault, one of rape, and one of unlawful sexual connection, all committed against girls under the age of 12. Newspaper reports now describe him as "a sexual predator", and he was remanded in custody
Detention of suspects
The detention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, remand prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing. One criticism of pretrial detention is that eventual acquittal can be a somewhat hollow victory, in that there is no way to...
while awaiting sentencing. On 14 July 2005 Capill was sentenced to imprisonment for 9 years. Prior to his sentencing, he sent an e-mail to supporters, asking for forgiveness and that they pray for a light sentence, also claiming that the sex with one of the young girls was "consensual". His lawyer said that the e-mail, intended to gain sympathy and support, backfired and was ill-advised. Judge Kerr said the email sent by Capill to supporters demonstrated he had yet to fully appreciate the enormity of his offending.
On 16 August he appealed the sentence to the dismay of his critics. The appeal was abandoned on 31 January 2006.
Capill had earned a law degree before the revelation of his offending. On 9 August 2006, he was forbidden to practice law and fined $3123 at a disciplinary hearing (although Capill had never practiced law privately, and described his legal studies as a "hobby"). Concerns were raised that Capill's wife and children might be unfairly burdened by this latest development, due to his inability to earn income as a prisoner.
Later that year, Capill complained that Rolleston Prison guards were interfering with photocopying and access to a university tutor for his Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
papers, and not letting him swap children's diaries with his wife. However, another Rolleston Prison inmate who was also studying Massey University papers at the same time as Capill argued that prison guards behaved similarly toward other inmates.
On 3 October 2006, his successor, Ewen McQueen
Ewen McQueen
Ewen McQueen is a New Zealand politician who is currently a member of the New Zealand National Party. He was the third and final leader of Christian Heritage New Zealand, a religious political party in New Zealand that is now defunct.-Early years:...
, announced the dissolution of Christian Heritage New Zealand, blaming Capill's conviction and disgrace for its demise.
In April 2008, antagonism was expressed when it was revealed that Capill was due to appear at a Parole Board hearing in June 2008. On June 27, 2008, it was reported that Capill's parole application had been unsuccessful due to opposition from his victims who felt there had been insufficient preventative counselling, and that the Department of Corrections and Rolleston Prison would not enrol him on Kia Marama, a child sexual abuse prevention education and counselling course, until he had served two-thirds of his sentence (circa 2011).
He was granted parole in August 2011 after having completed the nine-month Kia Marama child-sex offenders programme and having been assessed as posing a low/medium long term risk of sexual reoffending.
However, as with other paroled and released sexual offenders, there are a number of conditional aspects to Capill's release. He will be required to report to a parole officer when dealing with accommodation and employment concerns and will experience restricted mobility and autonomy in those contexts. He is forbidden from communicating with his former victims and associating with those under sixteen unless there are approved adult caregivers in the vicinity.