Mosque groper sentenced

A man who groped three boys at mosques has been sentenced to home detention and granted permanent name suppression.

The Wellington man appeared before Judge Lance Rowe on Friday morning in the Palmerston North District Court.

In 2013, he was visiting a mosque in the city and moved his bedding between two boys in a group sleeping in the main prayer hall, the judge said.

During the night, a 15-year-old boy woke to find the mosque groper rubbing his backside through the blankets and pressing up to him.

After this the groper touched a 12-year-old boy’s genitalia through clothing and rubbed his thigh.

The next incident took place at a Wellington mosque in 2014, when a 15-year-old boy sleeping after morning prayers woke to find the groper in the room, touching his genitalia through clothing.

Rowe read victim impact statements in which the boys described feeling intimidated, afraid of the man and angry.

Crown prosecutor Michael Blaschke argued the offending was a breach of trust because the community considered the mosques safe places.

However, because the groper had not been acting in a supervisory role, this was not significant in deciding the sentence, the judge said.

The age of the 12-year-old, the fact the later offence was committed while on bail for the first two, proven premeditation in that case and the groper’s refusal to admit the offending were aggravating factors.

A number of people wrote character references.

Defence lawyer Susan Hughes, QC, said the groper was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by a psychologist, after escaping difficult conditions to immigrate to New Zealand.

Rowe sentenced the groper to six months and two weeks’ home detention.

The groper was also ordered to undergo a sexual offenders’ programme, counselling and not to associate with children younger than 16 years old without direct supervision.

He was granted permanent name suppression because of his prospects of rehabilitation and fragile mental state, Rowe said.