Warren Richard Gray, 62, was sentenced in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to two charges of burglary and possessing objectionable publications.
The court heard that between June and August residents of a Heriot Row flat had repeatedly had garments taken from their laundry room, prompting them to install CCTV.
Just weeks after the camera was set up, on August 6, Gray was captured entering the property and rifling through the victims’ clothing in a washing machine and dryer.
He left with men’s underwear.
Meanwhile, residents of Warrender St had been hit with similar puzzling instances of vanishing undies.
On September 28, when one of the students heard a noise in the backyard, he went to investigate.
He met Gray on the property and recorded the confrontation.
According to court documents, the defendant claimed he was looking for his girlfriend "Sheree", then made a hasty exit.
Two months later, police executed a search warrant at Gray’s home and found damning evidence of his underwear obsession.
Along with the burglary victims’ jocks were hundreds of other pairs.
Despite officers uncovering the haul, Gray denied being on the properties in question or taking the clothing.
On November 19, police searched the defendant’s phone and found three videos depicting bestiality.
Yesterday, the court heard that Gray denied any wrongdoing, claiming he only admitted the charges to avoid a lengthy court process.
He said the person captured in the CCTV footage was not him and claimed police had not found the stolen clothing at his home.
He admitted watching the bestiality videos at a party, but said he did not know how they got on his phone.
"You say [the illegal videos] just somehow magically ... appeared on your phone," Judge David Robinson said.
Counsel Andy Belcher said having the videos was "very low-level offending" and his client watched them out of curiosity rather than sexual gratification.
The judge noted Gray’s continued denial of wrongdoing meant he was at risk of offending in a similar way.
The defendant said he was willing to accept treatment and offered $1000 reparation for the missing clothing, which the judge thought was an attempt to get a less harsh sentence.
Judge Robinson said the charges were serious and home detention would not be a harsh enough punishment.
"This is where denunciation [and] individual and general deterrence assume particular importance," he said.
Judge Robinson sentenced Gray to 20 months’ imprisonment.
