Defendant denies attraction to children
AN Oamaru man who sent a photo of his penis to a 12yearold and said she ‘‘turned him on’’ says he is not attracted to children.
Austin Hurst, 22, appeared in the Oamaru District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to exposing a young person to indecent material.
The court heard that in early May, Hurst and a 12yearold girl were talking to each other via social media.
As their conversation progressed, it became sexual. He sent explicit messages about wanting to have sex with the girl — some of which are too graphic to publish.
‘‘You’ve turned me on, you are cute,’’ one of the messages read.
Hurst asked the victim to send him a photo of her breasts. She declined.
The defendant sent her a photo of his penis.
In the morning, Hurst blocked the girl on all social media. The court heard the victim saw Hurst as someone she could trust, but now she felt ‘‘betrayed and vulnerable’’.
Counsel Emma Middlemass said her client had not been in contact with the girl since the offending. Ms Middlemass said Hurst had no similar convictions and did not have a sexual interest in children.
Judge Dominic Dravitzki said the offending was serious but not prolonged or ongoing.
‘‘This was a single incident . . . That’s not to minimise it. It was obviously completely inappropriate,’’ the judge said.
Judge Dravitzki accepted there was no evidence that Hurst posed an ongoing risk to children.
He noted the defendant was abusing alcohol, and was intoxicated at the time of the offending, which he said did not excuse the behaviour but helped explain it.
The judge sentenced Hurst to five months’ community detention and 16 months’ intensive supervision.
The defendant was not registered as a child sex offender.