Houseguest filmed on toilet

Registered sex offender Paul Hislop has been given his first electronically monitored sentence.

Hislop, 58, was sentenced at Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday for possessing an objectionable publication, making an intimate visual recording, and two breaches of his extended supervision order.

Judge Louis Bidois said the defendant set up a camera in the toilet of his home and captured footage of a visitor using it.

He said the victim had an expectation to use the toilet without intrusion and ordered $400 in emotional harm reparation.

The judge described the objectionable publication – a single pornographic image – as “distasteful” and promoting the sexual exploitation of a child.

The court heard Hislop had prior convictions for similar offending and his extended supervision order is due to end in April 2027.

Judge Bidois said Hislop was a full-time caregiver for his mother, and he had been in psychological treatment for several years to address his offending.

The judge reached a sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment and considered whether to grant the defendant home detention.

He said previous custodial sentences had not deterred Hislop from further offending and noted that he had never received an electronically monitored sentence.

He said it was time to “give him a chance.”

Five months was deducted from the sentence to account for time Hislop spent in custody on remand.

Hislop was sentenced to 6.5 months’ home detention, to be served in Whakatāne.

Kawerau man jailed

Waiheke Karepa, of Kawerau, has been sentenced to prison for three violence charges and one of escaping police custody.

Karepa, 25, previously pleaded guilty to charges of strangulation, escaping police custody and two counts of assault on a person in a family relationship.

Judge Bidois said the defendant had a small criminal history and very little stability in his life.

He said Karepa had no home, was unemployed and struggled with methamphetamine addiction.

The court heard that at the time of the offending, Karepa was suffering from meth-induced psychosis, and he had used psychoactive substances as an escape since the death of a young family member a few years ago.

Karepa had no address for home detention and was jailed for 17 months.

Leave for substitution of the sentence to home detention was granted only to a residential rehabilitation facility.

No emotional harm reparation was ordered because the judge deemed Karepa was not in a position to pay it.

Disqualified driver sentenced

David Marks has been sentenced to 120 hours of community work for driving while disqualified.

Lawyer Alexandra Dawick said the defendant was willing and able to do community work.

She said he preferred to do community work than be fined, because he was working seasonally.

In addition to the community work, Marks was disqualified from driving for a further 12 months.

Short prison sentence

Stewart Brooking has received a short prison sentence for three charges.

Brooking appeared via audio-visual link on charges of being an unlicensed driver who failed to comply, driving with excess breath alcohol, breaching bail and a new charge of burglary.

He denied the burglary charge and was remanded to a case review hearing in Ōpōtiki District Court in August.

For the driving and bail charges, Brooking was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment. Leave for substitution of the sentence was refused and no release conditions were imposed.

He was also disqualified from driving for a year and a day.

Community sentence for weed dealing

A man found in possession of 1.5 kilograms of cannabis head material has been sentenced to home detention, allowing him to attend various required medical appointments.

John Hall, 43, was sentenced this week on a charge of possession of cannabis for the purpose of supply.

The court heard he was dealing to meet his own addiction and to deal with pain.

A pre-sentencing report recommended a sentence of home detention, but lawyer Kylee O’Connor asked the judge to step back to community detention, which would be less restrictive in allowing Hall to attend the multiple medical appointments he requires each week.

Judge Bidois said this type of offending would normally result in a sentence of home detention, but due to Hall’s complex health needs, low risk of reoffending and motivation to change, he was prepared to step back.

Hall was sentenced to six months of community detention, to be served in Edgecumbe.

Case review hearing scheduled

Courtney Koopu has been remanded to August for a case review hearing on a raft of charges.

Koopu has been charged with burglary, being unlawfully in an enclosed yard, failing to remain stopped for police, consuming methamphetamine, prohibited display of gang insignia, assault with a blunt instrument and resisting police.

Bail denied

An application by Aaron Raki for electronically monitored bail was unsuccessful.

Raki was remanded in custody to August for case review on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Trial for co-accused

John-Boy Stills and Rewatu Thompson have been remanded to December for trial on charges of injuring with reckless disregard and burglary.

Both men have previously entered not guilty pleas to the charges and have elected trial by judge alone.

Thompson faces an additional charge of wilful damage, which he has admitted.

Trial date set

A trial date in December has been set for Riini Huirua, who denies assault with a blunt instrument, wilful damage and speaking threateningly.

Illegal hunting alleged

Ōpōtiki man Matthew Howe has been granted bail on three new charges of alleged unlawful hunting.

Police opposed the application.

Howe has been charged with entering agricultural land with intent to commit an imprisonable offence, discharging a firearm and theft of an animal.

He was remanded on bail to reappear before Ōpōtiki District Court in three weeks.

Charges admitted, man fined

Wilson Merito has been fined $1200 and must pay $178 in reparations for dishonesty, firearm and cannabis-related offending.

Merito pleaded guilty this week to possession of a non-prohibited firearm, cultivation of cannabis and two counts of using a document for pecuniary advantage.

The court heard that the firearm did not have a bolt and was therefore unusable.

Lawyer Jonathan Kay said Merito’s last dishonesty conviction was in 2011 and his last drugs conviction was in 2007. In addition to the fines and reparations, Merito was ordered to forfeit the firearm.

Jury trial elected

Co-accused Phillip Kepa and Daniel Woods have elected trial by jury on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The case is being prosecuted by the Crown.

They were remanded to a jury callover hearing in Tauranga in October.

First offender avoids disqualification

A young man who admitted driving while suspended, possession of cannabis and breaching district court bail has avoided a disqualification in hopes of avoiding a treadmill of offending.

Statesman Wirangi holds a learner’s licence and is working towards obtaining a restricted licence.

Lawyer Alexandra Dawick said a disqualification would significantly delay that. She submitted that Wirangi was effectively a first offender.

Judge Bidois convicted and discharged Wirangi without penalty for breaching bail. Wirangi was fined $350 on each of the remaining two charges.

In lieu of a disqualification, he was sentenced to 80 hours of community work.

Sentencing adjourned

Multiple factors contributed to Nathan Collier’s case being adjourned this week.

Collier was due to be sentenced on charges of strangulation, assaults police, threatening to kill and possession of an offensive weapon, but new charges meant the sentencing could not proceed.

He now also faces charges of wounding with intent to injure, intentional damage, assault with a blunt instrument and assault with intent to injure.

An application for bail outside of the Bay of Plenty could not proceed either because of the occupant of the address not providing a firm answer regarding consent to have Collier bailed there.

Judge Bidois ordered that the address be assessed for suitability of a potential home detention sentence, given that the sentence carried different responsibilities than bail.

Collier was remanded in custody to appear in Ōpōtiki District Court at the end of the month. He will be expected to plea to the new charges and apply again for bail.

New charges denied

Coastlands man Christian Te Pou, 27, pleaded not guilty to three new charges laid against him.

Te Pou denied being unlawfully in an enclosed yard, threatening to kill and assault with a blunt instrument.

Court documents state the charges relate to alleged offending in March. The yard was a residential address in Thornton and the blunt instrument was stated to be a “nail-embedded baton.”

Te Pou had already denied a separate charge of threatening to kill, escaping police custody and two counts of intentional damage.

He previously admitted burglary, theft from a dwelling, possession of a knife in a public place, and two counts of breaching release conditions.

He was remanded to September for a combined sentencing and case review hearing.

Disqualified driver spared home D

Wayne Henshaw, 57, has been sentenced to a combination of community work, intensive supervision, fines and disqualification.

Henshaw received the sentence for three counts of driving while disqualified and one of failing to stop for police.

Lawyer Paul Devoy acknowledged the likelihood of a home detention sentence but asked that Henshaw receive community detention instead.

Henshaw was sentenced to 160 hours’ community work, 12 months’ intensive supervision, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a $400 fine.

Neither community detention nor home detention were imposed.

Supervision after protection order breaches

Rikki Jones, 43, has been sentenced to 12 months of supervision after he breached a protection order three times in the first six weeks of it being in place.

The court heard that Jones and the victim were in a long-term relationship that ended in May. Since their breakup, he has been living in his car and has had no contact with his children.

On May 27, he made unauthorised contact with the protected person by phone, then on June 27 he visited their address and sent a series of unwanted messages.

Duty lawyer Jonathan Kay said the visit last Friday involved Jones dropping off a birthday present for one of his kids, and all the offending was motivated by efforts to see his children.

Judge Bidois told the defendant that he needed to accept the relationship was over, that something went wrong and that he had lost the rights to his kids.

“Breaching a protection order is not helping.”

He said supervision was necessary because Jones was not doing well.

Jones was ordered to pay $400 in emotional harm reparations.

Sentencing scheduled

Peter Ford has been remanded on bail until next week for sentencing on cannabis charges.

Ford pleaded guilty on Wednesday to possession of cannabis for supply and offering to sell cannabis.

The court heard he had one ounce of decent cannabis and a significant amount of “cabbage,” as well as five deal bags.

Sentencing was adjourned to next week, when he is due to be sentenced on other charges.