Influencer performed sex acts on teen boys

A well-known social media influencer has been found guilty of preying on two teenage boys, performing sexual acts on them while they were unconscious or asleep.

Interim name suppression remains in place until sentencing for the man, who is now convicted of five counts of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection.

However, jurors acquitted him of one count of sexual violation, along with three counts of blackmail and two counts of aggravated wounding by stupefaction.

It took the 11-person panel about five hours of deliberation to reach the split verdict, which came after three weeks of testimony in the High Court at Auckland.

His accusers were not in the courtroom as the verdict was read.

Justice Rebecca Edwards remanded the man in custody to await sentencing next month.

Allowing him to remain on bail would not be in the best interest of justice, she said, after prosecutors noted he was likely to receive a lengthy prison term.

The defendant waved to his parents, who sat in the front row of the courtroom gallery, as guards led him away.

The first accuser told police and later jurors that he met the defendant in 2015, when he was 16 and trying to make headway in the same industry as the defendant, then in his late 20s.

They became close friends and social media messages showed they were flirtatious at times. But the teen also clearly told the defendant he wasn’t gay and wanted only friendship, Facebook Messenger exchanges showed.

Testifying this week, the defendant called the now-adult witness a liar and “tease” who used him to get ahead. He said the accuser had been exploring his own sexuality and gave mixed messages.

He denied having twice spiked the teen’s drinks. He also denied blackmailing the teen by threatening to destroy his reputation or release nude photos if the teen didn’t relent to sexual acts. All sexual acts between them were consensual, he said.

The second accuser said he was 18 when he twice woke in the defendant’s bed after heavy drinking to find the defendant performing a sex act on him. Like the other accuser, he also acknowledged some flirting but said he wasn’t gay and insisted he never consented to sexual acts.