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While undergoing treatment for his attraction to young girls, a Milton man was secretly sending inappropriate messages to intellectually impaired women.
Donavan Peter Wells, 27, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier admitting breaching a condition of his intensive supervision sentence.
He received the sentence in 2024 for grooming a 13-year-old girl with a developmental disorder.
The defendant requested nude photos and sex from the girl and exposed himself to her on a video call.
A condition of his sentence for that offending was that he not possess an internet-capable device unless it was approved by Probation.
In March 2025, Wells was allowed to have a mobile phone, but only to contact his wife, probation officer and access internet banking.
But on February 19 this year, police informed Corrections Wells had made ‘‘inappropriate contact’’ with two intellectually impaired women via social media. A search of his phone the next day revealed he had several social media apps downloaded and was using them to chat with females.
The conversations were ‘‘mostly sexually explicit’’ and quickly escalated to requests for X-rated photos, a Corrections summary said.
The two women who had reported Wells’ contact to police were identified in these conversations.
They were over the age of 16, but were intellectually impaired.
Comments from the defendant indicated he previously had access to other social media apps, including dating platform Tinder.
The social media conversations were traced back to March 2025, meaning Wells had been breaching his sentence for 12 months and while undertaking specialist sex offender treatment.
The treatment involved extensive ‘‘rule’’ planning, including ‘‘I will not speak about sex with anyone other than my wife’’.
Yesterday, Judge Belinda Sellars KC said it was ‘‘very concerning’’ Wells had been breaching the important condition for half of his sentence.
‘‘I’m glad to see that you recognise that you need help so that this stops,’’ she said.
Wells’ two-year intensive supervision sentence had been completed, but because he was breaching a condition for half of it, Judge Sellars sentenced him to 12 months’ intensive supervision.
At his 2024 sentencing, Wells’ lawyer called the offence a ‘‘one-off’’ that made his client ‘‘feel like crap’’. But a Corrections officer pointed to a pattern of predatory behaviour which began in 2013 when the defendant received a warning for similar conduct.