A Palmerston North man claimed he could not remember indecently assaulting a woman at a Queenstown backpacker hostel because he had been inhaling solvents.
Two days later, he wrote a message to the hostel’s online portal, threatening to kill the staff if he saw them on the streets of the resort.
Shane Pekema Ngatai (42), unemployed, appeared for sentencing in the Queenstown District Court yesterday.
Last month, he admitted and was convicted on charges of indecent assault, on November 13 last year, and intimidation of the hostel’s staff, on November 15.
Judge Jim Large, who made an order to suppress the name of the hostel, said Ngatai went into its common area about 3.20am and noticed the victim asleep on a couch.
A short time later he turned off the lights, sat next to the victim and began rubbing his hand up and down her bare thigh.
She woke up and screamed, telling him to leave her alone.
He told police he thought he knew the woman, but could not remember the incident because he had been inhaling solvents.
Two days later, he wrote a message on the hostel’s online portal, demanding a refund for nights he had booked but not stayed there after being trespassed.
After threatening to kill himself, he wrote: "If I see any of yous around Queenstown streets yous are dead ... I know your faces, I know who yous are.
"If any of yous come to ... [suppressed] Street yous are dead, I’m ready to kill."
He later sent a message saying, "I’m sorry guys, I’m just stressing out."
In his police statement, he said he was angry when he wrote the message because he was living on the streets and needed his refund.
Counsel Tanya Surrey said although the defendant had "gone off the rails" in the resort, it was his first offending since 2015.
Judge Large said he was troubled by the premeditation of the defendant’s actions after seeing the victim asleep.
"Your actions show you did know what you were doing."
He read from the woman’s victim impact statement, in which she said she suffered periodic "emotional breakdowns" because of the assault.
"She cries randomly, her eating patterns changed, she doesn’t want to socialise, and does not like going out alone.
"Your actions that night, be they affected by alcohol or substances, created consequences for that person," the judge told Ngatai.
For the indecent assault, he imposed three months’ community detention, during which the defendant must stay at a Palmerston North address and observe a daily curfew.
He must also undergo 12 months’ supervision to enable intervention for his alcohol and substance abuse issues.
On the intimidation charge, he was sentenced to one month’s community detention, to be served concurrently.
