‘Predator’ jailed for grooming 13-year-old

A Hawke’s Bay judge has warned that sexual offences against underage victims will almost certainly lead to jail, regardless of consent being involved.

The warning came in Napier District Court yesterday as Judge Geoff Rea sentenced 39-year-old Nigel Francis Coles to two years and one month in prison for the “blatant sexual predation” of a 13-year-old boy.

The judge said Coles knew the boy was under-age and was in “no real position” to make an informed decision about consent.

Coles, who was living with his wife and children, arranged online to meet the boy, otherwise unknown to him, in a public toilet on March 31. He pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful sexual connection as a result of the meeting.

Judge Rea told Coles that even if the prison sentence had been calculated at less than two years, he would not have considered home detention.

“This was planned, you essentially groomed this boy,” Judge Rea said, adding later: “The message needs to be brought home that there is a cost for that behaviour”.

Outside the court, the boy’s mother supported the sentence, and publication of the offender’s name, for which there was no suppression.

She told Hawke’s Bay Today: “It is really important the community know of him and his offending so we can all protect our children.”

The court was told Coles and the boy had come into contact via a website, and that on March 31 Coles asked the boy to connect via text message.

Coles asked the boy’s age and was told “14, nearly 15”, then the arrangement was made to meet.

Judge Rea said that whatever the boy’s age, Coles knew he was under 16.

“What you did therefore was predatory behaviour against a child,” Judge Rea said.

It was the second case of its type in the Napier District Court this year, with a 34-year-old man in August having been sentenced to two years and three months in prison.