A Lower Hutt pastor who abused two girls in his care was "living a life of hypocrisy", a judge has said.
Hutt Valley District Court judge Arthur Tompkins said Jacob Semeri, from the Oasis of Life church in Naenae, had been abusing the girls while fulfilling the duties of a man of high standing in his community.
"He was living a life of hypocrisy."
According to a report on Stuff.co, Semeri was jailed on Wednesday for 16 months after pleading guilty to two representative charges of indecent assault of girls aged between 12 and 14.
Both girls had been living at his home and were under his care at different times between 1995 and 2013.
Both read statements to the court asking the judge to decline name suppression for Semeri, even if it identified them.
Semeri is a well-respected member of the Samoan community.
The girls said they felt as if he had hidden what he had done behind his reputation as a senior pastor at the church.
"He was supposed to be my dad … to teach me about God and to live a Christian life. Instead he abused me behind closed doors and destroyed a normal childhood," the first victim told the judge.
The second said Semeri had degraded her and made her feel worthless.
Neither felt safe in family gatherings or at church. Both lost family who believed Semeri when he denied the offending.
The judge said Semeri would go into their rooms and touch them, believing they were asleep,
"In fact she was feigning sleep to protect herself from what was happening," he said.
He said it was many years later that Semeri decided to admit what he had done and had gone to the police with his lawyer.
Defence lawyer Steve Gill said it was a gross breach of trust, and Semeri had had some counselling but needed a programme like STOP designed for sexual offenders.
He asked the judge to consider home detention.