A man who exposed himself and indecently assaulted a Dunedin student has been jailed for 25 months.
Sonny James Kennedy appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Tuesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to charges of indecently assaulting a female, possession of cannabis, doing an indecent act and driving while suspended.
The charges related to different occasions.
In October last year, a 21-year-old woman was at Dunedin Botanic Garden in the afternoon "relaxing in the sun, reading and listening to music".
Kennedy entered the garden wearing heavy clothes and sunglasses, which the police described as a "partial disguise".
He stood in the bushes and watched the woman, who noticed him.
"She thought it odd, but figured out he was cutting through the park," police documents said.
About 10 minutes later, Kennedy approached the victim from behind and unnoticed, as the girl had her headphones on.
He lowered his pants, started to masturbate near her.
The victim yelled at him and he ran away.
Police could not locate him at the scene, but later identified him and executed a warrant search at his home.
There, they found 206g of cannabis.
Kennedy admitted the drug was his but stated he did not go to the botanic garden or masturbate.
On a previous occasion, in July last year, Kennedy was at a bush by the fence which separates Splash Palace and Rugby Park in Invercargill.
He watched two year 11 pupils running around the park before he started to masturbate.
Both of the victims saw the defendant and ran to tell their teacher, while Kennedy quickly went to his van and drove away.
In explanation, he told police he was buying "weed" from a guy who wanted to meet him at the bushes.
The driving charge related to a offence in March 2018, when he was stopped by the police after driving at high speed on Waikaka Valley Highway in Willowbank.
He explained to the police he was driving to work.
His driver's licence had been suspended the previous year, for excess demerit points.
Judge Bernadette Farnan said this was not the first time Kennedy had appeared in court in relation to indecent acts.
Kennedy was jailed for 25 months on the charge of indecently assaulting a female and was ordered to pay $2000 to the victim.
He also was sentenced to three months' jail in relation to the indecent act in Invercargill.
He also would have to pay $500 to both victims as compensation for emotional harm.
The judge added two months to the sentence (concurrent) for the possession of cannabis and driving while disqualified charges.
