Sentencing for repeat offender
A MAN who killed a driver while fleeing from police as a teenager has committed a strikingly similar offence and sent explicit images to a child, a court heard. Jayden Richard Breakwell, 22, appeared in the Invercargill District Court last week after pleading guilty to exposing a young person to indecent material. He was earlier sentenced for failing to stop and for driving disqualified, intentional damage and stealing petrol in Dunedin. In 2019, Breakwell caused a fatal crash while fleeing police in Christchurch, which killed 64yearold Kenneth McCaul. The defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter and reckless driving causing injury and was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch to two years and eight months’ imprisonment. The then 17yearold was on his learner licence and reached speeds of 90kmh in a 50kmh zone. Last year on May 6, after failing to pay for $90 petrol at Andersons Bay, Breakwell sped away with his headlights off.
Police activated their lights in an attempt to stop the defendant. The patrol vehicle was travelling at 80kmh in a 50kmh zone and was not gaining on Breakwell, a police summary said.
The defendant drove through a red light and later sped through the University of Otago campus, hitting a metal bollard.
Initially, Breakwell denied any knowledge of the offending, but later pleaded guilty. On December 15, 2022, the court heard the defendant sent a photo and video to a 15yearold girl with the caption ‘‘I would tap ya’’.
Breakwell said he was too drunk to remember. He admitted the charge, but disputed the images featured his genitals, as the police summary suggested. Years before, the victim blocked Breakwell due to the sexual nature of his messages. Police applied to have the defendant registered as a child sex offender.
Counsel John Fraser said his client made a drunken mistake, but had since acknowledged his alcohol issue and would take steps to address it.
‘‘The taint of such an order is far greater than this offending demands,’’ Mr Fraser said.
Judge Catriona Doyle declined the application as the offending did not involve any physical indecency and was at the lower end of the scale.
She also took into account the defendant’s slight age gap with the victim.
‘‘This probably is a oneoff.’’ Across all charges, Breakwell was sentenced to 12 months’ supervision, 40 hours’ community work, was disqualified from driving for 13 months and fined $800. He was ordered to pay a total of $1348 reparation.