A 31-year-old Christchurch man has been remanded in custody on charges of kidnapping, raping, and sexually violating a woman over the weekend.

Luke James Henry (pictured) was remanded without plea by Christchurch District Court Judge Gary MacAskill to appear by video-link from the prison on September 22.

Henry, who lives in the central city, faces 14 charges, alleging that he raped and sexually violated the woman, unlawfully detained her, assaulted her, and assaulted her with intent to injure her on Friday.

He is then charged with driving while his licence was suspended on Saturday, reckless driving on Hendersons Road, Hoon Hay, and failing to stop for a police car using its lights and siren.

Henry represented himself at today’s hearing.

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Emotional harm reparations were ruled out for a father and his 12-year-old daughter who were the victims of 35-year-old Luke Malcolm Geldard’s road rage assaults.

Police sought the payments at Geldard’s Christchurch District Court sentencing on six charges, but Judge Tony Couch said he was only allowed to order reparation payments where they were feasible.

Geldard is now not working and his income is a Australian returned serviceman’s pension.

Judge Couch ordered him to pay $5867 for the damage he did to the other man’s car, but declined the request for emotional harm reparations. Geldard will have to pay the damage reparations by instalments.

Geldard was removed from the Australia-New Zealand cricket test at Hagley Oval in February and complained that the police did not charge the security guard who pushed him in the face during the incident. Police intervened when he resisted leaving the ground, and officers described him as “intoxicated and argumentative”.

Twelve days after that, Geldard became drunk at a wine and food festival in North Canterbury, and drove back to Christchurch with his partner and three-month-old child in the car.

He drove too fast through Belfast, swerving, passing on the left, tailgating, and collided with the median strip. That caused him to lose control.

He then continued and tailgated another vehicle, which he rear-ended as it slowed for a traffic light.

There was an argument, and members of the public tried to stop him leaving because of his driving.

He drove away at speed on the road shoulder, dangerously close to the other driver, police said.

The other driver followed and phoned the police. Geldard then stopped, shouted at the other driver and punched him through his window.

The driver backhanded Geldard whose nose began to bleed. Geldard spat blood and spittle several times through the open window, where it landed on the driver and his 12-year-old daughter in the passenger seat. She became hysterical because of the continuing attack on her father.

When the victim drove off, Geldard kicked the panels of his car.

A police test showed Geldard had 183mg of alcohol to 100ml of blood – more than twice the legal limit.

Judge Couch sentenced him to 250 hours of community work, 10 months supervision with a special condition to participate in a course for alcohol issues, disqualification from driving for 10 months, and reparations for the damage.

As the judge put aside the file on the case, Geldard said: “It is not quite as thick as my military medical file, sir.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, but you can stand down,” said the judge.

Geldard had admitted dangerous driving, drink-driving, three charges of assault, and wilful damage.

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Eight months’ home detention was imposed on a man who posted a naked photo of a woman online to try to force her to meet him.

Christchurch District Court Judge Tony Couch said that 28-year-old Thomas James Burborough had pleaded guilty and had expressed remorse for his actions.

“But it appears you are just as much sorry for yourself as for the harm you have done to the victim,” said the judge at Burborough’s sentencing.

Burborough had pleaded guilty to charges of causing harm by posting a digital communication, and possession of cannabis for supply.

Defence counsel Michelle Barrell said the photo had been obtained as part of “a consensual exchange of information”, which led to the final posting of the photo, which was without consent. She said Burborough was a first offender.

Judge Tony Couch said the two had consensually taken intimate photographs of each other. Burborough had later threatened to place intimate photographs of her on the Internet if she did not agree to meet him.

While she was making a complaint to the police, she received a message from him saying that the photograph had been posted. It appeared on a popular social media site for about 30minutes before it was taken down.

When police searched Burborough’s home they found 400g of cannabis, some of which was prepared for sale.

Judge Couch said posting the photograph on line after an intimate relationship had been a gross breach of trust, and it had been done for the express purpose of humiliating the woman and causing her distress.

He imposed eight months’ home detention at an address in Rangiora, with special conditions, and ordered the destruction of the cannabis and drug equipment, and any images of the woman. The computer equipment will then be returned to Burborough.

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The man who burnt down St Margaret’s Presbyterian Church, causing over $2 million damage because God had killed his friends in the Christchurch earthquake, was sentenced to six years’ prison.

In the Christchurch District Court, 35-year-old Cheyenne Destiny Jade Reed, a technician, was sentenced on two charges of burglary of the church in Farrington Avenue, Bishopdale, intentional damage by fire of the church, theft of a car and perfume, unlawful possession of a knife, receiving a computer, and breach of bail.

Reed lived in the same street close to the church, and on May 7, 2016, he broke a window and stole items including a computer hard drive, and a sound mixer.

On May 15, he went into the main building through an unlocked door of the church, and took more items. He returned home, then went back and set fire to a bag in the church.

He went home again, and when he heard a loud bang from the fire woke up his flatmates, and they all went to the church which was well alight.

Defence counsel Richard McGuire said Reed attended a restorative justice meeting which was a constructive process. He had accepted substance abuse issues, and had started to address them.

Judge Gary MacAskill said Reed had said he was angry at God for killing his friends in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and the fire was an attempt to get back at him.

He said Reed had received a computer which had been burgled from Waimairi Primary School, taken a car worth $5000, shoplifted perfume from Farmers, and breached his bail.

He said the damage to the church was worth $2,276,000, but the consequences were far more than the financial loss of the church, there was also the emotional and psychological suffering by parishioners and community groups.

He said Reed had previous dishonesty convictions, and his pre-sentence report said he had a depressive disorder, and an obsessive compulsive disorder, but nothing that showed they diminished his responsibility.

He sentenced Reed to six year’s prison, but made no order for reparation as he said Reed had no way to pay it.

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A 54-year-old man has admitted taking baths with a 12-year-old girl and getting her to “wash his penis”.

Police were able to track payments into the girl’s bank account after the baths took place, Judge John Strettell was told in the Christchurch District Court today.

The man, who has interim name suppression, was remanded on bail to November 9 for a pre-sentence report which will cover his suitability for home or community detention, and for a restorative justice meeting with the victim.

Judge Strettell granted the interim name suppression requested by defence counsel Craig Ruane but said it would have to be fully argued at the sentencing.

The unemployed man admitted a charge of sexual conduct with a young person aged under 16.

Police said the man had taken baths with a girl, some years ago, and had encouraged the victim to masturbate him under the guise that she was “washing his penis”.

The man is on bail pending sentencing.

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A 23-year-old Geraldine man has been remanded in custody on six charges after a 30km car chase across North Canterbury.

The police allege Kyle James Clarke was arrested in Woolston at the end of an incident that had begun at Woodend on Thursday morning.

Duty lawyer Steve Hembrow said no bail was being sought when Clarke appeared in the Christchurch District Court today.

Judge John Strettell remanded Clarke in custody for an appearance by video-link from the prison on September 29, for a lawyer to be assigned and possibly for a bail application to be prepared.

Clarke is charged with unlawfully taking a $5000 Nissan Safari four-wheel-drive vehicle in Waikuku, and then driving while forbidden, burglary of a shed at Amberley, being found unlawfully in a yard at a property at Harleston Street, Amberley, reckless driving on the Northern Motorway, and failing to stop for the police.

He entered no plea to any charges.

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A woman who stole funds put aside by her family to provide for the day-to-day care and needs of her intellectually disabled sister, was granted permanent name suppression in the Christchurch District Court today.

Judge John Strettell told the 67-year-old that as a result of her offending her sister went without, was not living in sufficient appropriate accommodation, and her well-being was not cared for to an appropriate level.

The 67-year-old was sentenced on a charge dishonestly using her sister’s bankcard to take $100,000 out of her bank account, and term deposits.

Defence counsel Simon Shamy said the woman had paid back some of the money, and she and her partner were going to sell their home to pay the rest.

He said she was still close to her sister, and was at a loss to explain why in her 60’s she suddenly started stealing the money for gambling.

The victim did not understand what had happened, and was upset about people criticising her sister, he said.

Judge Strettell said the offending was a tragedy for the family, and was an “astonishingly and reprehensible act of breach of trust”.

The offending between May 2009, and February 2015, involved 450 transactions.

He said the woman’s pre-sentence report said she didn’t have a gambling addiction, and she told them others encouraged her to use the funds and benefitted from them as well.

He sentenced the woman to five months’ home detention, and said there was still a degree of dependency between her and her sister, and she was still a person of importance in her sister’s life.

He said publication of her name would cause grief to the sister. The new holder of the power of attorney asked that the woman not go to prison, and be granted name suppression.

The judge also ordered reparation of the remaining $61,000.

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File image. © Andrew Bardwell

Sexualised behaviour during burglaries has been cited among the reasons the Crown is asking for an open-ended preventive detention jail term to be considered for a 31-year-old Christchurch man.

The man has admitted a charge of sexual violation of a six-year-old girl by unlawful sexual connection.

He has no previous “qualifying” sexual offence but a law change means there no longer needs to be one for preventive detention to be considered.

It all depends on the risk the man poses of further offending, and Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said in the Christchurch District Court today that the man’s risk was seen as high.

He declined jurisdiction and sent the case for sentencing in the High Court – which can impose preventive detention – on a likely December date that is still to be confirmed.

Crown prosecutor Pip Norman asked for the case to be sent to the High Court so that preventive detention could be considered. She told Judge O’Driscoll that he now had jurisdiction. “Though his history doesn’t include other qualifying offences, the requirement is simply that there is a pattern that shows the risk of further offending.”

The court had a pre-sentence report which assessed the man’s risk as high, ahead of his scheduled sentencing on the sexual violation charge, as well as objectionable publications charges. Those charges alleged he took photographs on his cell phone of a six-year-old girl’s genitalia, and that he had 200 images on his cellphone of naked girls under 10, including infants and toddlers, and girls under 12 performing oral sex on adult males. He had pleaded guilty.

The pre-sentence report referred to a 2014 psychological report on the man, and a recent report was before the court. However, the High Court may need more health assessors’ reports on the risk the man poses before it can consider preventive detention.

Defence counsel Trudi Aickin said: “He accepts that he is a high risk. He accepts and acknowledges that he needs to address what is the reason for this offending. Kia Marama has been identified as the most appropriate treatment programme for him.”

Kia Marama is a rehabilitation course carried out in Christchurch Prison for child sex offenders.

The Crown provided the court with details of the man’s previous convictions, and summaries of facts for earlier burglary convictions which it said had “sexual elements to them”.

“There are issues here that need to be addressed,” said Miss Norman.

The Crown told the court the man had previously attended Stop and Kia Marama courses for sex offenders but had not completed the programmes. He had previous convictions for making objectionable publications.

Judge O’Driscoll said all those factors combined meant he had reason to believe the case should be considered in the High Court for possible preventive detention, and remanded the man in custody for that to occur.

He continued interim name suppression but said the issue would have to be fully argued at the High Court hearing.

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A man made a throat-cutting gesture at his alleged rape victim over a video-link to a Christchurch District courtroom.

Police reported the gesture to Judge Brian Callaghan who had been looking down at the paperwork at the time, and had not seen it.

They wanted it noted as a factor if any future bail application was made by Luke James Henry.

The police prosecutor in court verified that the woman sitting with another woman in the back of the court was the alleged victim of a kidnapping and three rapes by Henry, and several other sexual violations and assaults.

Henry, 31, appeared in court last week after police had issued his photograph through the media and said he was being sought for several violent offences.

He appeared in court on September 13, when he represented himself and was remanded in custody without plea to today on the sex and violence charges as well as driving while his licence was suspended, reckless driving on Hendersons Road, Hoon Hay, and failing to stop for a police car using its lights and sirens.

He continued to represent himself when the case was called in today’s video-link session from Christchurch Men’s Prison.

Henry immediately saw the two women who were sitting in the public seating area which has signs up saying that those seats are visible to people appearing on video link. He made a finger-gesture several times.

Judge Callaghan did not see those gestures either, but asked Henry if he wanted to get a lawyer or apply for legal aid.

“What do you f–g think?” said Henry, and called the judge a nasty name.

“I’m not going to answer that,” said Judge Callaghan, but he continued to deal politely with Henry, explaining that he was entitled to legal representation.

Henry just shrugged.

Police then reported to the judge that they had seen the throat slitting gesture, and asked that it be noted. The judge noted it, but said he had not seen it himself.

Henry walked away from the video camera when the judge asked if he wanted to enter pleas. He appeared to hold his hand in a pistol gesture.

“Mr Henry is in an irascible mood,” said the judge. “It appears he’s in no mood to enter pleas today.”

He remanded him again in custody to October 3, for pleas, and asked that a duty lawyer contact him about it in the meantime. The next appearance will also be by video-link.

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Fractious Frenchman Cedric Claude Rene Rault-Verpre has now pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing a sleeping bag in Auckland, days after admitting damaging a West Coast road sign.

He was remanded in the Christchurch District Court today for a case review hearing on October 4, when a date will be set for a hearing about the amount of damage he caused.

Police prosecutor Bronwen Blackmore said police opposed Rault-Verpre’s release on bail, but Judge Brian Callaghan decided it could be granted.

He said Rault-Verpre would have to report to the Christchurch Police on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and would have to surrender his passport to the court. The police already have the passport.

The 27-year-old, who has been working in New Zealand, pleaded guilty to the wilful damage charge on Tuesday, after he attacked a road sign in Punakaiki.

He was remanded to appear in the Christchurch District Court today, and turned up before 10am with his backpack.

Soon after arrival he was taken into the Court House cells, and then on to the Christchurch Central Police Station to be questioned and charged with another offence.

He was back at the Court House a few hours later facing a charge of stealing a $999 sleeping bag from Kathmandu in Broadway, Auckland, on September 9.

After pleading guilty to the original charge before a registrar in Greymouth on Tuesday, he suggested that New Zealand should change its name to “Nazi Zealand”.

It was alleged Rault-Verpre pulled one sign out of the ground and threw it in the nearby Punakaiki River and hurled large rocks at another sign. Witnesses told police he had verbally abused tourists and locals. Fulton Hogan were seeking $3000 reparations for the damaged sign, but Rault-Verpre said it was already damaged.

Rault-Verpre said he had been frustrated after trying for four days to hitchhike out of the area.

Duty lawyer Andrew McKenzie said Rault-Verpre admitted damaging the sign, but said it was already damaged and he questioned the $3000 repair bill. The half-day hearing will try to establish how much damage was caused.

Rault-Verpre is in New Zealand on a working visa.

At one stage during today’s hearing, Rault-Verpre snapped his fingers to get the attention of his duty lawyer.

Later on Friday, an overseas donor apparently paid the $4000 in reparations at Rault-Verpre owed — having seen the publicity about the case — and he was discharged without any further penalty, and able to leave the court.

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Secrecy issues have apparently forced the Crown to drop a robbery prosecution against the man who was the victim in the Mongrel Mob kidnapping and bashing trial in Christchurch last month.

The robbery trial of Dawson Reihana, 35, was halted in the Christchurch District Court without any evidence being called after a pre-trial ruling by Judge Alistair Garland.

Reihana was discharged under section 147 of the Criminal Procedures Act and was free to leave the Court House.

He had been charged jointly with a woman of robbing another woman of $350 at Christchurch on December 8.

He had denied the charge as the trial began on Monday, when the jury was chosen. But the judge explained to the jury then that there were legal issues that had to be argued before the trial was able to go ahead and sent the jury away until 10am today.

All of Monday was then spent arguing the legal issues raised by defence counsel Nick Rout and Miranda Rout in closed court and Judge Garland gave his decision this morning.

He said the defence had “sought further and better disclosure of text message information that was in the possession of the Crown”.

He said he had examined that material himself, in the absence of Reihana and his defence counsel.

“I have reached the conclusion that it was necessary for the Crown to disclose that information to the defence in order to achieve a fair trial,” he said.

Crown prosecutor Chris Lange had accepted the ruling, but had told the court that the Crown was not in a position to disclose the information and invited the court to stay the proceedings.

The court then adjourned overnight for counsel to consider whether the court should stay proceedings or issue a discharge.

Mr Lange then put before the court the decision of the High Court referring to the legislative provisions in relation to the disclosure of undercover agents’ identities. This referred to bringing matters to an end by way of a section 147 discharge, and that conclusion was support by Mr Rout for Reihana.

Judge Garland said: “In the circumstances the proper course is to discharge Mr Reihana under section 147 on the basis that without this material being disclosed, he would be unable to receive a fair trial.”

The jury was then brought in to court and told that Reihana had been discharged after his ruling on legal issues, and they would not be required to hear any evidence.

Reihana is a member of the Mongrel Mob’s Notorious chapter, who was kidnapped and savagely bashed by a group of members of the Mob’s Aotearoa chapter in August 2015. He was bound and beaten with hammers, and knuckledusters, punched and stomped at addresses in Ajax Street, Shirley, and in Bowenvale Avenue, Cashmere.

He eventually got to a cellphone left charging after his “guard” apparently fell asleep, and was able to call the police.

Reihana, so badly beaten around the face that he could hardly see, then got free and made his way out of the Bowenvale house where the police were putting a cordon into place after his 111 call.

Nine men eventually pleaded guilty or were convicted by the jury of kidnapping or bashing him, and they face sentencing at two court sessions later this week.

The woman jointly charged with Reihana over the robbery allegation in December, pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in the District Court.

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A 39-year-old Hornby man who admitted shining a laser pointer at two aircraft approaching Christchurch Airport has gone to ground rather than face his sentencing at court.

Christchurch District Court Judge David Saunders issued an arrest warrant for Tane Hemopo, a builder, when he did not arrive for today’s session.

Preparations were all in place for the sentencing but the judge said he had been told that the Parole Board had issued an order for Hemopo to be recalled to prison to serve more of an earlier jail term.

Hemopo was still at large and could not be found.

Defence counsel Serina Bailey told the court she had been trying to contact him for the last two days without success.

Judge Saunders said his disappearance was “something of a surprise given the reference from his employer, and since he had been complying with his bail conditions and curfew”.

“He will clearly at some stage come to notice and sentencing can be rescheduled,” said the judge.

Tane Hemopo, a builder, pleaded guilty in August to charges under the Civil Aviation Act of causing unnecessary danger to the two aircraft in the incident on April 5.

He admitted the charges after the Crown dropped Crime Act charges of shining the pointer with reckless disregard for the safety of others, which carry a 14-year maximum penalty.

Instead, the maximum penalties under the Civil Aviation Act are a fine of up to $10,000 and a year’s imprisonment.

Hemopo pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary danger to the people aboard a Virgin Airlines passenger plane and a New Zealand Post Metroliner.

The incident happened about 12.30am, when Hemopo was at the Sign of the Kiwi on the Summit Road, on the Port Hills above Christchurch. He had a high powered laser pointer.

He pointed it at the tail of the Metroliner as it was coming in to land, and then at the airport control tower.

A few minutes later, he steadily pointed his laser at the Virgin Airlines flight which was inbound to the airport at about 20,000 feet, for about 20 seconds. The light struck the cockpit, dazzling the flight crew although it had little effect on them, the police said.

Hemopo then pointed it at the aircraft three times, for between 3sec and 15sec, as it was on its final landing approach, at about 4000 feet. The light entered the cockpit and the police say it put the flights at unnecessary risk.

Hemopo admitted pointing the laser but said he did not know it was dangerous. He denied aiming at the cockpit.

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File image. © Andrew Bardwell

The family of a youth jailed in the Christchurch District Court for kidnapping and aggravated robbery told Judge David Saunders that they had failed him.

Shem Brokenshire’s father said he was a recovering addict who had been violent to his wife in front of him, and his mother said she was never there for him when her drug addiction took over her life.

Defence counsel Colin Eason said 20-year-old Brokenshire had been in 47 placement homes over 10 years, which meant numerous schools and no pattern of stability.

He said the offending was tragic and regrettable, and Brokenshire accepted full responsibility for it.

The nine months he had spent in jail, he said, had probably been the most healthy of his life. He had been involved in training courses, school courses, and gained his driver’s licence.

Brokenshire was grateful for the increased contact with his family, and could think positively about his future, he said.

Judge Saunders read Brokenshire the first of the three strike warning for repeat violent offenders, for his charges of kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

He told his family in court that their support would be important when Brokenshire was integrated back into the community.

He said in early January Brokenshire and an associate, Jayden Daniel Hopkinson, went to a 55-year-old man’s home and threatened him. They all got into his car, and Brokenshire drove him to two cash machines, before he was able to run off from a petrol station.

Brokenshire then drove the car south and crashed it near Temuka.

He was also being sentenced for stealing a bottle of alcohol from Papanui Super Liquor and intentionally damaging the shop’s door in January, stealing three T-shirts from Duty Free Souvenirs last October, and breaches of supervision and community work.

Judge Saunders said Brokenshire had previously been sentenced on charges of arson and intentional damage in New Brighton.

He sentenced Brokenshire to three years four months prison, and disqualified him from driving for six months. He said Brokenshire had a substantial amount of work to do in rehabilitation programmes.

The 15-year-old co-offender, Hopkinson had been sent to the District Court from the Youth Court jurisdiction.

Defence counsel Colin Eason said the youth had found himself responsible for his own upbringing, and long periods away from school left him very badly equipped, and addicted to synthetic substances. The nine months he had spent in custody at the youth justice facility at Te Puna o Wai near Christchurch had been “a good time in his life”.

Staff from the centre were at court and said he had been “a pleasure to work with”.

Judge Saunders sentenced the youth for the kidnapping and aggravated robbery, as well as two thefts, trespass, and intentional damage. He noted the time in custody had weaned Hopkinson off his addiction to synthetic cannabis which robbed people of their motivation, made them lazy, and hindered learning.

Judge Saunders imposed four months of community detention with 18 months of intensive supervision and regular monitoring by the judge. He will have to undergo counselling, treatment, or education as directed. He will not be allowed to possess any alcohol or illegal drugs, or associate with gang members. Name suppression was refused.

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Laser-pointer offender Tane Hemopo, who had disappeared rather than face his sentencing at court, has been caught walking along Colombo Street.

Hemopo, 39, spent some time in the police cells and made an appearance at the Christchurch District Court today, where he was remanded in custody for an appearance by video-link from the prison on October 17.

Hemopo had admitted two charges of causing unnecessary danger by shining a laser-pointer at two aircraft approaching Christchurch Airport.

Since that remand on bail for sentencing, Hemopo had been arrested on new charges of disorderly behaviour and wilful damage, and the Parole Board had decided to recall him to prison to serve more of a previous jail term.

Hemopo then apparently disappeared rather than head back to prison and he was not at court for the sentencing on the Civil Aviation charges before Judge David Saunders on Wednesday.

The judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

Defence counsel Serina Bailey said today the recall to prison had been made on an interim basis at present and the full hearing before the Parole Board would be held in the next month.

She asked for the laser-pointer charges to be remanded so that she could prepare for a sentencing under the new circumstances.

It had been possible Hemopo would receive a community-based sentence but that would now depend on the outcome of the recall hearing.

Judge Tom Gilbert remanded Hemopo and told him pleas would be expected on the new charges at his next appearance.

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A Kaiapoi builder admitted being the driver in a police chase through North Canterbury two weeks ago, which ended when road spikes were used.

Christopher Warren Corfield, 32, pleaded guilty to unlawfully getting into a car, driving recklessly, and failing to stop for the police while driving dangerously, on September 15.

Corfield drove through North Canterbury on the wrong side of the road around blind corners, up Williams Street, Kaiapoi, on the wrong side of the road, and through Tuahiwi, all at speeds up to 150km per hour.

The passengers in the car were throwing various items out of the window of the car as he drove, while being chased by police.

He went over the road spikes, and after he and the passengers got out of the car, it caught fire.

Judge  Philip Connell remanded Corfield in custody for sentencing on November 29.

One of his co-offenders, Michelle Susan Wallace, 32, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of a class C drug, possession of a pipe, and dishonestly getting into a car. She was remanded in custody for a case review hearing on November 5.

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A 90-year-old man has admitted child sex offending dating back as long as 53 years.

Name suppression has lifted on Ronald Edward Growcott, who had a walking stick to help him stand in the dock when he pleaded guilty at the Christchurch District Court yesterday.

Growcott admitted sexual offending against a girl from 1963 to 1971. She was aged under 16 years throughout that time.

Growcott was in the news in December when he tried to go to Australia to see his wife who remains there and is ill. He was on bail at the time.

Defence counsel Andrew McCormick said it was not a serious attempt to evade the charge he already faced because when he arrived at Brisbane Airport he had ticked the box on the arrival form saying that he had a conviction.

He was stopped at the airport and put on a flight back to Christchurch the next day.

He was held in custody for more than a month after that, but was then granted electronically monitored bail to live at an address in Christchurch.

Growcott was sentenced in May 2015 to six months’ home detention for sexually abusing two girls – some of those charges dated back 30 years.

He had been living in Brisbane but had been contacted by the New Zealand police about the sex offending allegations.

He made arrangements to see the police when he arrived on a cruise ship visiting Wellington.

The police visited him on the ship and then arrested him.

He pleaded guilty to four charges of indecent assaults or indecent acts involving those two young girls.

About the time Growcott completed that home detention sentence, he was charged with the earlier sex offending against the third girl.

Judge David Saunders yesterday accepted the guilty plea and remanded him on electronically monitored bail for sentencing on December 9.

The Crown and defence will provide submissions before that sentencing takes place. Judge Saunders said the long period spent on electronically monitored bail would be taken into account in imposing sentence.

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Two men were sentenced to community detention and fined for buying black market fish in an undercover sting by fisheries officers.

Peter Keith Wah, 60, was sentenced on charges of obtaining a benefit by buying paua, knowingly permitting premises of Dumplings on Riccarton take-away restaurant to be used for an offence, and failing to keep fish transaction records.

Qui Sheng Ying, 47, was sentenced on a charge of obtaining a benefit by buying spiny rock lobster at Daphne’s Restaurant where he is a co-director and head chef, responsible for ordering the food.

The prosecutions were brought by the Ministry for Primary Industries as part of its Operation Dragon investigation.

Defence counsel for both men, Kerry Cook, said they did not seek out the offending, knew that what they were doing was illegal, but gave in to temptation when the undercover person offered the fish to them.

He said both men had good character, and excellent references.

Christchurch District Court Judge Tom Gilbert said the offending was against the whole community, and Wah had purchased illegal fish nine times over six months, involving 867 paua which he had paid $2785 for, but was legitimately worth $11,000.

He sentenced him to three months’ community detention with a curfew from 8pm to 5am, 60 hours’ community work, $8000 fine, and forfeiture of his mobile phone and car.

Ying arranged for spiny rocklobster to be delivered to the restaurant six times, and paid $5000 for over 147kilos. It was $12,000 less than its true market value.

Judge Gilbert sentenced him to four months’ community detention with a curfew from 12.30am to 9am, 80 hours community work, a fine of $12,000, and forfeiture of two live crayfish water tanks.

A courier driver, 57-year-old Derek Sutton Yee, also involved in the offending, had previously received a sentence of four months’ community detention, 100 hours’ community work, and a $15,000 fine.

Judge Gilbert said the consequences of the offending compromised the country’s ability to manage fisheries stock, and involved costs in the millions of dollars, with the potential to impact on our valued clean green image.

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Police claim they found evidence of money laundering in the bank account of a 61-year-old Christchurch man accused of being involved in a drugs conspiracy involving party pills worth up to $240,000 on the streets.

The allegation was put to the jury as the Crown opened its case against Hugh James Robinson who denied seven drugs and firearm charges in the Christchurch District Court yesterday.

The Crown will call evidence from 37 witnesses in the trial before Judge Alistair Garland and a jury, which is expected to continue into next week.

Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said that when the police ended their Operation Nebraska surveillance operation in 2013, they searched several locations in Christchurch and the Wellington area, and made several arrests.

The locations in Christchurch included Robinson’s home in Riccarton, his car, his health product business in Carlyle Street, Sydenham, and a lock-up he rented in Russley Road. The class C drugs were found at each place, and a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition was found at the lock-up.

She said they found between 6000 and 8000 doses of party pills – benzyl piperazine, which was made illegal in 2008 – which had a street value of between $180,000 and $240,000. At a wholesale level, it would have been worth up to $56,000.

“In anybody’s language, that is a huge amount of money to have tied up in that drug. In the Crown’s submission it points to dealing,” said Mrs Orchard.

She said a police forensic accountant would give evidence of finding transactions “that bear all the hallmarks of money laundering” in Robinson’s bank account.

Sometimes, deposits were made at the same bank, at the same time, one at the counter and one at the bank’s drop box. Sometimes they were made at different banks, about the same time, for amounts around $10,000.

The implication was that the amounts were split to avoid the banks being obliged to report the deposits to the authorities.

“There was a lot of unexplained cash,” said Mrs Orchard.

Residue of BZP was found in a mixer and pill press at Robinson’s business, and pills that looked the same as the ones he had were found in the luggage of a man who had come to Christchurch from Wellington” and met Robinson.

She said the Crown’s case was circumstantial, but the jury would be able to safely draw inferences that he was engaged in producing the pills at his factory, for the purposes of supply. His son Jamie Robinson, 29, was also involved and Hugh Robinson said his son worked for him and was one of four people who had access to his business premises.

Mrs Orchard said Hugh Robinson must have known about the drugs and the firearm, which was found “in plain sight” in his storage unit. Jamie Robinson had also been seen visiting the storage unit.

The Crown case was that more than one person could be in possession of something. That was commonly the case in the type of situation the Crown was alleging.

Hugh Robinson told the police the BZP had been left over from the time the drug was made illegal in 2008. Before that date, he had been able to manufacture the pills legally.

After the Crown’s opening address, defence counsel Richard Maze said Robinson said the activities of the Wellington man who was found with BZP were “nothing to do with him”. The details about what the police had found were “largely uncontroversial”.

“The problem is the conclusion they have drawn from what they found,” said Mr Maze. This particularly applied to the evidence from the police’s financial expert, which is expected to be given on Wednesday.

Robinson denies charges of conspiracy to sell the class C drug BZP, four charges of possessing the drug for sale, and unlawful possession of the sawn-off shotgun and 115 twelve-gauge shotgun shells.

The trial is continuing.

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A teenager accused of the armed burglary of the Campus Corner Dairy in Upper Riccarton has pleaded not guilty.

Quade Mihaere Kavanagh, of Riccarton, entered the plea through his defence counsel Allister Davis at a remand appearance in the Christchurch District Court.

Judge Gary MacAskill remanded him on bail to a case review hearing on November 22.

Kavanagh is charged that he entered the dairy on August 29, with with an unknown man, while the pair was armed with an axe. Police are not alleging that Kavanagh had the axe himself.

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Police found a virtual Aladdin’s cave when they searched a Burwood house where two offenders lived. It had been furnished and equipped with $69,340 of stolen gear.

The couple – Craig Raymond Spiers, 31, and Jacqueline Denise Sanott, 30 – faced sentencing on a combined total of 87 charges.

Spiers was jailed for six years, with a three-year non-parole term. Sanott, who has a child, was jailed for three years six months by Christchurch District Court Judge Paul Kellar. Their offending had been driven by methamphetamine addiction.

The judge said Spiers had been providing a market for stolen goods, which encouraged theft. He was clearly closely connected to the actual thefts, because he was found with the goods very soon after the crimes.

The pair were unemployed at the time, but their house had contained luxury items.

The couple shared a house in Vivian Street, Burwood, which was searched by the police on February 20. The stolen property found there, which included two cars and a trailer, was linked to burglaries and thefts where the goods taken had totalled at least $136,000.

Spiers admitted 29 charges of receiving stolen property, eight thefts, 19 fraud charges, several charges  of unlawfully getting into a car, unlawfully opening postal articles, possession of instruments for forgery, driving while disqualified, and breach of prison release conditions.

Sanott admitted four receiving charges, theft of postal articles, 16 fraud charges, and possession of instruments for forgery.

The fraud charges mainly involved photographing both sides of bank cards and credit cards found in car break-ins, and then using the details to make purchases or transactions totalling $22,663.

The pair raided mailboxes across North Canterbury and were found with 1000 stolen documents when the police raided their home. Boxes of opened and discarded bulk mail were found at parks and dump sides around Canterbury.

Police said: “The defendants drove around rural mailboxes in Rangiora, Oxford, West Melton and Lincoln stealing personal mail and courier packages from hundreds of complainants.  They retained anything of value including vouchers, gift cards and items of property brought online.

“They opened envelopes containing bank statements, IRD information, bank cards, drivers’ licences, qualification certificates, invoices, passports, registration labels and personal letters.”

The stolen items found at their house included two vehicles and a trailer, musical equipment, a nail gun, power tools, laptop, iPod, office products, bowling balls, jewellery, passports, bank cards and a knee brace.

Notes found at the house showed the pair were collating information to obtain credit cards to commit identity theft. They had a magnetic card reader capable of re-coding credit cards.

Judge Kellar said there was no realistic prospect of reparation being paid. Hundreds of people had been harmed by the postal thefts.

Spiers’ prolific offending had affected a “vast number of people”, and Sanott had been in possession of a lot of the goods and had been involved in other dishonesty activity.

Sanott had already completed two rehabilitation courses while in custody, he said.

Their sentences were reduced because of their guilty pleas.

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