Accountant caught groping in cinemas for fourth time

AUCKLAND: An accountant has been sentenced to home detention for repeatedly groping young girls in movie theatres.

It is the fourth time the father of two has committed such offending since 2013.

Attul Kumar Patel has repeatedly lurked about Auckland cinemas before sneaking in and indecently assaulting young girls.

He was sentenced for the latest incident, in July this year, in the High Court at Auckland by Justice Christian Whata today.

He was also given his final warning under the threestrikes law.

Patel’s lawyer, John Anderson, said his client was offering an emotional harm payment of $500 to the victim.

Patel’s latest offending saw him target a young girl and her sister at Event Cinemas at Westgate in Massey.

After walking past several empty seats he sat next to his victim, the court heard.

After looking at her several times he slid his hand along the seat and underneath her bottom.

While Justice Whata described the latest offending as a ‘‘fleeting touch’’ it had understandably left the victim feeling ‘‘violated and completely unsafe’’.

A psychiatric report said Patel has strong compulsion issue which led him to and touch others and stroke their hair.

Patel was first convicted of the first two incidents in May 2014 and given a firststrike warning.

He was sentenced to 18 months’ intensive supervision, 230 hours’ community work and ordered to pay reparation.

In January 2017, Patel was again caught in a movie theatre — this time rubbing a girl’s thigh.

He was given a verbal secondstrike warning but it was void after a written warning was not sent to him.

Patel was sentenced to five months’ home detention and ordered to take his medication.