Amadeo Enriquez Ballestero, 47, was known as "Mr Science" during his two decades working at Tuhura Otago Museum, often conducting explosive experiments for hordes of bewitched children.
In July 2024, though, he was unmasked as a predatory sex offender, jailed for two years on an array of crimes against a young boy he first met through a school interest group.
This week in the Dunedin District Court, Enriquez Ballestero - who appeared by video link from prison - pleaded guilty to two more charges of indecent assault and one of possessing objectionable publications.
All three counts were representative, meaning they encompassed multiple indiscretions.
Court documents revealed two months after his 2024 sentencing, an "associate" of Enriquez Ballestero arranged for several boxes of his personal items to be sent to Spain.
They were collected from his Christchurch home for shipping but seized by Customs on October 21 that year.
When officials found what they believed to be child-sexual-exploitation material, they called in police who had the laptop and seven hard drives forensically analysed by digital experts.
Among the 153 objectionable images and 10 videos, there featured photos of a Dunedin boy from 2009 - evidence of Enriquez Ballestero’s long-standing deviant interests.
The court heard the defendant was a mentor on the "buddy programme" when he was paired with the vulnerable victim.
Enriquez Ballestero quickly gained the trust of the boy’s family and would initially see him on a weekly basis.
For nearly two years, the defendant would collect the victim from school or home and take him to events or activities.
He would splash out on gifts and sometimes "find an excuse" to see the boy more regularly; occasionally they would spend the night together.
During that period, Enriquez Ballestero would "intimately stroke and touch" the pre-teen and "spooned" the victim as they shared a sleeping bag on one overnight trip.
A Crown summary detailed how the defendant took photos of the boy naked in the bath and in bed, both when the victim was awake and asleep.
When interviewed by police, Enriquez Ballestero accepted elements of his relationship with the boy were "inappropriate" but denied any sexual contact.
He explained the naked photos were taken because he thought the victim was "cute".
"The defendant advised that he was always interested in the growth of children," court documents said.
The facts of the case mirrored his depraved acts more than 12 years later.
At sentencing, the court heard Enriquez Ballestero abused that victim, who was a similar age, both at his home and on various South Island trips.
He also recorded some of the crimes.
Enriquez Ballestero admitted kissing, massaging and rubbing the boy’s feet against his face, and told police he loved him - but denied his conduct was sexually motivated.
The victim later told the court the ordeal left him feeling dirty and paranoid.
"I have scrubbed my skin bloody many times," he said.
"You took my spark ... I am so changed, so low, so dark. I battle daily to get my spark back and find who I am."
Enriquez Ballestero will remain behind bars until his sentencing in May.
His counsel, Kirsten Gray, accepted her client would receive an extension to his prison sentence and thus did not request a home-detention assessment.
