Alleged bridge flasher appears in court

A Whakatāne man accused of indecently exposing himself within view of Landing Road, and grooming and indecently assaulting a child, appeared before the court yesterday.

The man sought and was denied name suppression, but his name cannot be published because he intends to appeal Judge Bidois’ decision.

He pleaded not guilty at his first appearance to indecent assault, grooming for sexual conduct with a young person and three counts of obscene exposure in public, all alleged to have occurred on February 27.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Ian Dodds signalled the prosecution’s intention to replace the indecent assault charge with one of sexual conduct with a child under 12.

The defendant elected trial by jury.

Duty lawyer Alexandra Dawick applied for interim name suppression on behalf of the defendant on grounds that publishing his name could prejudice his right to a fair trial.

She said there was a significant risk to his fair trial rights because there was nothing to stop potential jurors in Tauranga from reading the Whakatāne paper or other news networks from publishing the article.

Ms Dawick said the defendant raised safety concerns for himself and his elderly mother, who was concerned about people showing up at their address.

Police had seized a hard drive connected to the home security system, the judge heard, so their security cameras were no longer functional.

Sergeant Dodds said the defendant was already on the Child Sex Offender Register and there was significant public interest in his name being published.

Judge Bidois said there was public interest in knowing the defendant who was alleged to have acted this way, so people knew to be wary of him. He did not agree that publishing the defendant’s name would prejudice his fair trial rights.

He refused to grant interim name suppression.

Ms Dawick indicated that the decision would be appealed, meaning the defendant’s name cannot be published until a decision is made on the appeal.

The defendant was remanded on bail to reappear in Whakatāne District Court in June for a Crown case review hearing.

His bail conditions include to reside at a specific address, not to go within 25 metres of Whakatāne Rowing Club, not to associate with children younger than 12 and not to associate with a named complainant.

Car stolen after victim lured to secluded area

A young Kawerau man has been sentenced to 8.5 months of home detention for his role in luring his partner’s ex to a secluded area to attack him and steal his car.

Bailey Taiatini, 19, was in an intimate relationship with his co-defendant at the time of the offending, Judge Bidois said.

They were annoyed that the co-defendant's ex-partner was continuing to contact her and came up with a plot to scare him and steal his car.

The judge said the co-offender texted the victim to pick her up so they could have a “sesh” and offered to perform sexual favours for him.

When they arrived, Taiatini snuck out from his hiding place in the bush and got into the back seat of the car, where he put the victim in a headlock.

The victim escaped the car, at which point Taiatini got into the driver’s seat and drove off in the car with the co-offender in the passenger seat. They then concealed it.

Taiatini denied knowing his co-offender had a knife, but admitted his role in the offending at an early stage and he was credited with a 25 percent discount at sentencing for it.

He also received discounts for various mitigating factors. This is his first criminal conviction.

Judge Bidois heard that Taiatini had a supportive family, was employed full-time and was no longer in a relationship with the co-offender.

Crown prosecutors accepted that home detention would be an appropriate sentence.

In addition to serving the 8.5 months’ home detention, Taiatini was ordered to pay $317 in reparations and $500 in emotional harm reparations.

Shoplifter wants fresh start after prison

A Rotorua shoplifter sentenced in Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday sought to speed up the judicial process by pleading guilty, waiving her rights to reports and being sentenced on the same day.

Phoebe Sanders-Allam, 37, admitted 10 counts of dishonesty offending committed in Whakatāne and Rotorua in the summer period.

Court documents showed that in December she stole motocross pants valued at $200 from Underwood and Wilkins in Whakatāne, clothing valued at $159 from Rebel Sport Whakatāne, $40 of petrol from Mobil Eastside Energy in Rotorua and perfume and an adult toy valued together at $375 from Chemist Warehouse Rotorua.

In January, she stole $245 worth of groceries from Pak n Save Whakatāne and $30 of petrol from Caltex Te Ngae.

In February, she stole a tent and dog biscuits worth $536 from The Warehouse Whakatāne and $40 of petrol from Gull Ngongatahā.

She also admitted obtaining a Teknik motorcycle jacket by deception by not honouring her end of a Facebook Marketplace deal.

Judge Louis Bidois said Sanders-Allam bought the jacket for $90 and arranged to meet the seller in an isolated area with no internet connection.

She was given the jacket, but did not pay. Court documents listed the offence as happening in Whakatāne.

Sanders-Allam's lawyer said she had been struggling with addiction but had since got clean and wanted to take responsibility for her past offending.

He said she wanted to start life afresh when she got out of prison.

Judge Bidois sentenced Sanders-Allam to eight months’ imprisonment, which included a 25 percent discount for her guilty plea.

Leave for substitution of the sentence was refused.

Sanders-Allam was ordered to pay reparation based on the figures included in the charging documents, except for property that had been recovered.

Fraudster given more time to pay reparations

The sentencing of convicted fraudster Matthew Black has been adjourned again to allow him a last-ditch effort to stump up with the money for a six-figure reparation bill.

Black was due to be sentenced this week on charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, obtaining by deception, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, converting a motor vehicle, breaching community work and driving with excess breath alcohol.

The sentencing was adjourned in December to allow him to scrape together the $150,000 required in reparation.

This week, the judge was told Black had spent a lot of time out of town because of the death of a younger family member in his care an, as a result, a lot of his work contracts had fallen over.

His partner told Judge Bidois that she had an appointment with her bank that afternoon to request access to her KiwiSaver funds based on hardship.

The judge also heard that Black had a tractor rebuild contract coming up.

Judge Bidois questioned why he should believe a fraudster would follow through on his word, but he said granting a final adjournment would give the victims a chance of getting their money back.

Black is due to be sentenced on June 11.

Resolution reached

Whakatāne man Hayden Monsall has admitted three charges and been remanded in custody for sentencing.

Police withdrew charges of careless driving and driving while disqualified, and Monsall pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure, failing to stop for red and blue flashing lights and threatening to kill.

He was remanded for sentencing at the end of June.

Jury trial elected

Karla Rowe has pleaded not guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to injure.

She elected a jury trial on the Crown charge and was remanded in custody for a case review hearing in June.

New charge laid

A new charge of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle has been laid against Kauri Hepi, who has already denied a raft of others.

Hepi also faces charges of burglary, unlawfully taking a motorcycle, driving dangerously, unlawful possession of a firearm, recklessly discharging a firearm, and two counts of driving while disqualified.

He was remanded to June for a case review hearing on the denied charges and to enter a plea on the new one.

Bail application adjourned

No progress has been made on application for electronically monitored bail by Nohowaka Kinghazel.

The application was adjourned for a second time because of issues with a check of the address he had proposed.

Kinghazel was remanded in custody to April 30 to enter pleas on charges of assault with a blunt instrument, cultivating cannabis, possession of utensils for methamphetamine and breaching intensive supervision.

Release conditions breach punished by community work

A Cook Islands man now living in the Bay of Plenty has been ordered to complete 100 hours of community work for breaching his prison release conditions.

Teariki Araipu, 35, pleaded guilty to contacting the victim of his previous crime without the permission of his probation officer.

The court heard that he was sick of returning to court and had ended his relationship with the victim.

Sentencing adjourned, bail refused

Tommy Rangitakatu, who was due to be sentenced this week, has been remanded in custody for three weeks on new charges.

He now faces charges of burglary, three counts of driving while disqualified, possession of methamphetamine, possession of utensils for methamphetamine, receiving stolen property and failing to stop for police.

Rangitakatu applied for bail, which was opposed by the police. Judge Bidois refused the application.

He was remanded to April 30 for sentencing.

Two trials scheduled

Two separate trials have been scheduled for Bryan Wana to defend himself against charges of threatening to kill.

The first trial is slated for June 10 and the second for October 10.

Wana also pleaded guilty to charges of possessing methamphetamine and cannabis, for which he was fined $400.

Prison avoided

A woman who could not resist the temptation to take a vehicle left running with its keys inside, has managed to avoid a prison sentence because it would undermine the progress she has made.

Lani Pile, 47, appeared on Wednesday for sentencing on charges of shoplifting, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and breaching intensive supervision.

The shoplifting charge pre-dated Pile being sentenced to intensive supervision, the court heard, but the unlawful taking offence was committed while she was subject to the sentence.

Defence lawyer Leonard Hemi said the defendant was now off hard drugs and the car had been recovered. He asked that she not be sent to prison, despite that being the recommendation of a pre-sentencing report.

“She seems to be making good progress, and the risk is that a term of imprisonment – even a short one – will unravel the good work she has done.”

Judge Bidois sentenced Pile to 140 hours’ community work and ordered her to pay $340 in reparations.

Supervision after assault

Mudgie Patangata has been sentenced to 12 months’ supervision for assaulting a person in a family relationship and breaching a protection order.

Patangata, 45, was also ordered to pay $250 in emotional harm reparations to the victim.

He was not sentenced to community work, because he spent a month in custody on remand.

Remand in custody

A Matahi woman charged with breaching her home detention sentence has been remanded in custody until next week.

Esther Peratiaki said she had another home detention address available and sought to be let out of custody.

Judge Bidois remanded her to reappear on Wednesday.

Jury trial elected

Te Uira Eruera has denied attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The charge, along with other denied charges of kidnapping, using a restricted weapon, and two counts of contravening a protection order will go to a jury callover hearing in Tauranga on August 14.

Rehabilitative sentence after month remand

A rehabilitative sentence was ordered for Stallone Harawira, who admitted four charges.

Harawira was sentenced for wilful damage, escaping police custody, wilful trespass and contravening a protection order.

Police withdrew charges of possession of an offensive weapon and resisting police.

The court heard Harawira’s offending had stemmed from him wanting to see his child. An informal visitation schedule has since been established, which his lawyer submitted should de-escalate further issues.

Judge Bidois said Harawira had not been sentenced to supervision since 2009, and he would likely benefit from it.

Harawira was sentenced to 12 months’ supervision and was ordered to pay $200 in emotional harm reparations.

He was also ordered to pay $2534 in reparations for damage he caused to a police car and $330 for a house window he broke.

Drug driver sentenced

Te Teko woman Kathleen Kopu has been sentenced to community work, supervision and disqualified from driving after she admitted driving under the influence of methamphetamine.

Kopu, 58, pleaded guilty to being a driver whose blood showed evidence of a qualifying drug, careless driving and breaching district court bail.

The court heard this was her seventh conviction for impaired driving.

She was driving on White Pine Bush Road on October 31 when, at 4am, she crossed the centreline and struggled to regain control of her vehicle.

Kopu was found to have 690 nanograms of meth per millilitre of blood.

A level of 50 nanograms of meth per millilitre of blood is considered to be a high-risk blood concentration level for drug-driving offences under the Land Transport Act.

“You’re lucky you didn’t crash,” Judge Bidois said.

“If you had, you’d be off to jail.”

Kopu was sentenced to 160 hours of community work and 12 months’ supervision.

She was disqualified from driving for one year and a day and was ordered to pay $1953.26 in reparations.