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A doyen of the Dunedin music scene who plied a 15-year-old girl with meth and paid her for sex has been jailed for two years, three months.
Michael David McLeod, 42, can now be named after a suppression order, which has been in force since he was charged nearly two years ago, lapsed before the Dunedin District Court this afternoon.
His crimes, Judge David Robinson said were “sickening and unconscionable”.
McLeod made headlines eight years ago when he took over running legendary live-music venue the Captain Cook Hotel after a lengthy closure, later changing its name to Dive.
He was also previously operator of Chicks Hotel in Port Chalmers, playing a vital role in its rejuvenation for the local gig scene.
McLeod also gained some notoriety as frontman of the Dunedin band The Alpha State, and later with psychedelic-rock trio The Shifting Sands.
The court heard how in April 2023, the defendant was cruising an online classifieds website when he replied to an ad purporting to be an 18-year-old woman offering commercial sexual services.
What he did not know was that she was actually 15, and had been coerced into her escorting role by another man who had given her drugs and sought to make some cash by setting up the online profile.
McLeod met the victim and took her to a remote area near a paintball park where the first liaison took place.
Court documents said he paid the teen $300 and organised another meeting a few days later.
This time, McLeod picked her up, gave her a vape then drove her to his bar where he provided her with vodka and paid her $500 for sex “on a couch in the back room”.
On the third occasion, the girl informed the defendant he had actually been communicating with another man on the online platform.
To circumvent that, they added each other on Instagram.
McLeod again gave her vodka from the bar, as well offering her the class-A drug meth.
“The defendant then held the glass pipe and applied the lighter against the glass bulb while the victim consumed the methamphetamine,” a prosecution summary said.
Over the next five months, their arrangements followed a similar pattern.
McLeod would provide the teenager with meth, sometimes cannabis, and would pay her $450-$500 for sex.
Crown prosecutor Zoe Kellam said the drugs formed “part of an ongoing pattern of exploitation” which increased the victim’s dependence on the man.
At some point he came to believe she was 16 but “did not take any other steps to independently verify her age”, the court heard.
When police raided McLeod’s Leith Valley home in August 2024 they found 0.6g of methamphetamine and a glass pipe on his living room table.
Analysis of his laptop also uncovered a video the victim had sent to him which depicted him performing a sex act on her, as well as other images and clips of her naked.
McLeod had saved the files in a specific folder on the laptop bearing the girl’s first name.
Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said her client had begun using methamphetamine and sex workers as he was “struggling to cope with personal demons”.
The defendant told Probation during a recent interview his descent had been caused by a downturn in business.
Ms Saunderson-Warner said McLeod sought to address his issues immediately after being charged, undertaking counselling for alcohol and drug use.
“These are not box-ticking attempts at rehabilitation,” Ms Saunderson-Warner said.
He was now 22 months sober, the court heard.
Ms Saunderson-Warner argued home detention was the appropriate penalty but the judge disagreed.
Judge David Robinson said the young victim was “extraordinarily vulnerable” at the time and the negative effects on her had been profound.
While the contents of the girl’s statement were suppressed, the judge summarised: “the road to recovery for her will be long and she has many hurdles to overcome.”
McLeod said he was unable to explain why he did not cut contact with the victim when he discovered she was a minor.
He claimed providing her with drugs was to help her sleep.
McLeod was convicted of contracting an under-18 for sex, two charges of supplying methamphetamine, one of possession and one of supplying cannabis.
Joshua Thomas Smith and Zachary James David Ledgerwood, both 34, also admitted sexual charges against the same victim and were jailed at earlier hearings.