The 20-year-old man, who the Otago Daily Times has chosen not to name, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to three charges of supplying alcohol to a minor.
He was granted a discharge without conviction due to his severe cognitive impairment and the consequences of a black mark on his criminal record.
The court heard that on August 18, the defendant was with three teenagers who had absconded from their supported accommodation.
All four of them travelled by bus to McDonald's.
Later in the day, the defendant bought a four-pack of Woodstock Bourbon and cola and gave it to the three minors, who stayed at McDonald's for about an hour drinking the alcohol.
The defendant then invited the trio back to his house, and when they arrived there he gave them more alcohol before offering them prescription medication.
A 16-year-old girl from the group took some of the pills.
She appeared to be heavily intoxicated and her friend tried to intervene, but the defendant persisted in offering the substances, a police summary said.
The other two people told the defendant’s father about the situation, but he did not intervene.
When they went back into the room, the girl was lying on the ground and appeared to be unconscious.
They managed to rouse her, but were concerned by the defendant’s increasingly agitated behaviour so left with her by bus.
Once the trio were back at their accommodation the girl was still drifting in and out of consciousness and collapsed after taking a shower.
She was taken to Dunedin Hospital where she stayed overnight.
Yesterday, counsel Andy Belcher said his client was "severely cognitively impaired" and was not aware he was committing a criminal offence.
"He is highly suggestible ... he wants to be liked, he wants to form positive connections with people and that really is what’s happened here," Mr Belcher said.
The lawyer accepted there had been "terrible consequences" for the girl and said the defendant was "extremely remorseful" for what he had done.
The defendant had no criminal record and a conviction would impact his future employment opportunities, Mr Belcher added.
Many letters in support supplied to the court explained the incident was out of character for the man.
Justices of the peace Kevin Tansley and Helen Meiklejohn were persuaded it was appropriate to grant the defendant’s application for a discharge without conviction but ordered him to pay court costs of $148.
