Dion Shane Kyle’s latest offences represented an "ongoing attitude towards females and a sense of entitlement to sexualising unknowing victims without consent", Judge David Robinson told the Dunedin District Court last week.
The 44-year-old sought a sentence of home detention, but the judge said protection of the public was the main consideration, jailing him for 10 months.
"There’s something to be said about hearing the clang of the prison door," he said.
Kyle was in Kmart on August 19 last year, when he began following two women around the store.
Once they became separated, he pursued his victim, walking behind her in the women’s clothing section.
As he did so, Kyle slid his hand across her buttocks, wiping a white residue on her pants.
While the victim focused on removing the substance, the defendant "calmly" walked off and left without making any purchases, the court heard.
The woman gave the garment, after washing it, to police for forensic testing, but the results were inconclusive.
Three weeks later, officers executed a search warrant at Kyle’s home.
"Police recovered a modified foam-lined bottle capable of collecting semen into a removable rubber glove," court documents said.
After assessing various electronic items, police also discovered videos of Kyle filming unsuspecting women shopping in public, with a white fluid smeared across their buttocks.
One video, from another department store in December 2023, showed the defendant position the device to film up his victim’s skirt.
In relation to the Kmart incident, Kyle told police he coughed snot and mucus into his hand and accidentally flicked it on to the victim’s rear.
That was swiftly rejected by Judge Robinson.
The court heard the defendant was interested in voyeurism and exhibitionism.
"There’s a thrill-seeking element to your sexual offending. As long as that element persists, the community remains at risk," the judge said.
Crown prosecutor Clementine Flatley said prison was the only appropriate outcome and underscored Kyle’s six previous sexually motivated offences.
In 2004, the man was convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl and molesting a 12-year-old at Moana Pool; and eight years later he admitted performing an indecent act in a library.
In 2014, he was convicted again after he posted explicit photos of a woman on a pornographic website because he believed she had egged his car.
And most recently, in 2019, Kyle was jailed for two years and one month after filming himself molesting a sleeping woman.
— Rob Kidd, Court reporter
