A man who sent the 15-year-old ex-girlfriend of his son a slew of explicit messages has been granted permanent name suppression.
The next day, the defendant (aged in his 30s) blamed his messages on his intoxication and asked the victim "are you going to get me in trouble?".
She blocked him on the messaging app and approached police.
The defendant appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week after pleading guilty to indecent communication with an under-16-year-old and an unrelated charge of wilful damage.
The court heard the defendant met the victim through his son and had known her for more than a year.
On January 22 last year, he contacted her through Facebook Messenger, asking if she had a new boyfriend and suggesting she should visit him in Central Otago during the school holidays.
The defendant said he was looking for a "friend with benefits" arrangement.
He told the girl she was "pretty cute" and looked older than she was.
According to court documents, during the conversation he reminisced about the victim and made sexually suggestive comments
He also asked the girl to send "naughty pics", and re-emphasised his desires.
After appearing to backtrack and asking her to delete the messages, the man again continued his advances.
Counsel Brian Kilkelly said his client was living in a vehicle or a tent at the time and had been bingeing on alcohol, methamphetamine and cannabis after the breakdown of his marriage.
He said the man had no memory of his actions and was "appalled" to find the messages the following day.
In a statement, the victim said she felt "uncomfortable and betrayed" by the contact from a man she regarded as a father figure.
She now felt anxious about bumping into him in public, the court heard.
Mr Kilkelly said his client had gone "cold turkey" and had abstained from intoxicants since the incident.
The defendant had sought assistance in battling his addiction demons and had reconciled with his partner, who was in court to support him.
Judge Emma Smith accepted the man’s remorse as genuine and sentenced him to 15 months’ intensive supervision along with 200 hours’ community work.
She suppressed his name to protect the identity of the teenage victim.
