The defendant, aged in his 50s, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this afternoon after admitting a charge of attempting to enter into a commercial sexual arrangement with an underage girl.
He sought a discharge without conviction citing the adverse financial consequences to both his company – as he was the “face of the business” - and him personally.
But Judge David Robinson said the consequences came as a result of the man admitting the offence rather than the mark on his criminal record, and declined the application, sentencing the defendant to four months’ community detention.
He also ruled the man’s name suppression should lapse.
“There is, in my view, a public interest… that persons charged with this particular offence be named. It carries a very significant deterrent value,” the judge said.
But the suppression order remained in place for five days to give the defendant opportunity to appeal to the High Court.
The victim told the court the man’s sordid offer came at the most vulnerable point in her life when she was homeless and penniless.
“I was in survival mode just trying to make it through each day,” she told the court in a tearful statement.
“What was done to me shattered my sense of self-worth. It made me feel disgusting, ashamed and broken.”
The court heard the defendant began contacting her on social media last year and helped her out financially to the tune of $900.
But between July and August his monetary support would come with a catch.
He messaged the victim on Snapchat and offered her $700 for sex.
Judge David Robinson said the conduct involved an element of “grooming” and persistence.
The defendant continually reminded the teen the offer remained open and suggested she may even enjoy the experience.
The proposal was repeatedly put to her, to the point where she removed him as a friend on social media.
When approached by police, the defendant admitted the crime but said he knew the victim was struggling financially and wanted to help her out.
He said he had been drinking heavily and his offending came at a “low point” during the breakdown of a relationship.
While the defendant said he was “horrified” by his actions, Judge Robinson detected minimisation in the man’s previous comments.
The court heard he previously described his crime to a professional body as “a very stupid text”.
But the judge pointed out there was more than one proposition made to the victim.
The teenager said the trauma she endured from the incidents touched every part of her life and meant she now struggled to relate to other people.
“I continue to live with the emotional scars, flashbacks and shame which were never mine to carry,” she said.
“What happened to me wasn’t just inappropriate, it was exploitative.”
The defendant was ordered to pay her $5000.
