‘Hugger’ at charity went too far three women say, but man wants a discharge

On her first day working at a charity a woman says she was warned about one of the men there.

He had his own warning, “I am a hugger”, he told her.

But he was a hugger, a kisser, and a slapper of bottoms, it has been revealed in court.

In a victim impact statement read for her to the Wellington District Court on Wednesday, the woman said it had been her dream to work in the charity’s field.

But the combination of the anger and violation she felt because of his actions, and the effects of a physical injury, became so overwhelming she tried to take her own life.

Three years on she felt stronger and more confident and wanted him publicly held to account for his actions.

Another woman spoke directly to him as he stood in the dock, telling him how fearful and vulnerable she felt and how his actions had taken away the passion she used to feel for the work the charity did.

The statement of a third woman was read for her. She said she was assaulted in 2019 and she had a health crisis. She needed treatment after attempting suicide. She now worried about the safety of females working at the charity.

The man, in his 60s, has asked the court to be discharged without conviction and have his name suppressed.

The Crown asked for him to be convicted and opposed that suppression.

He was initially charged with indecently assaulting the women but pleaded guilty when the charges were reduced to assault. The most recent offence dated from January 2021.

His lawyer, Lucie Scott, said the public saw discharges without conviction as “getting off scot-free” or defendants not accepting responsibility, but normally defendants would have taken steps to address the causes of the offending and to give back to the community.

The man from the charity had taken steps to make amends. He offered the women reparation but should not be seen as trying to buy his way out, she said. If the women did not want the money it would be donated.

He had treatment to deal with the mental health effects of being charged, and had to come to terms with having caused harm, Scott said.

He put in place a safety plan to ensure he did not reoffend. That included telling people at the charity of the charges. He also apologised to the women in writing.

Convictions could affect his ability to work because he needed to be authorised for his job and permission might be withheld, Scott said. The consequences of someone his age losing their job outweighed the seriousness of the offending. She added that she was not minimising the harm it caused the victims.

For the Crown, prosecutor Harshaa Prasad said he had hugged the victims, hit their backsides and kissed them.

The court should hesitate to usurp the role of the official body that permitted the man to do his work, she said.

Convicting him would not be out of all proportion to what he had done, she said, saying suppression was opposed for reasons of open justice, not to shame the man.

Judge Nicola Wills said she would give her decision on a date yet to be set.