Toddler thief, bag snatcher jailed

A toddler was left abandoned on the roadside for an hour after a man stole the car the child was in and then ditched it.

At the Rotorua District Court yesterday George Raymond Harris appeared to face charges relating to abandoning the child, as well as bag snatching. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The court was told that on April 24, 2017, Harris noticed a woman leave her keys in the car as she stepped out of the vehicle, on the corner of Pererika St and Old Taupo Rd, so he decided to steal it. He got about one kilometre down the road when he heard crying from the back.

Judge David Wilson said Harris found himself in a dilemma and decided to put his own needs ahead of the child’s.

‘‘You were stuck with a dilemma with what to do. You parked the car, threw the keys onto a verge and told no one about it. The car was located about an hour later.’’

Crown Prosecutor Andrew Hill said it was only ‘‘dumb luck’’ the child was not injured or killed in the incident as they were found by a passer-by.

The charge of abandoning a child is rare in New Zealand with the crown prosecutor unable to find any case law to base a sentence starting point off.

‘‘This charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years,’’ Hill said. ‘‘We suggest a starting point of three to four. Clearly this is not the most serious type of abandonment but the child was left in a vulnerable position.

‘‘They were strapped into their car seat and there was no way they could get themselves out of that situation. It was just dumb luck nothing more serious happened.’’

Dorset suggested a starting point of 12-18 months for the child abandonment charge as the crime was not premeditated.

Harris had previously pleaded guilty to the charge as well as a number of other offences including stealing tobacco and stealing a handbag from a supermarket carpark.