The Dunedin student who snuck on to properties to steal women’s clothes has been discharged without conviction. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
The 21-year-old University of Otago student appeared in the Dunedin District Court in September where he was sentenced to community detention and community work on three charges of burglary and one of unlawfully being in a yard.
Judge David Robinson declined his application for permanent name suppression.
But both decisions were immediately appealed, and the High Court judgement was released this week overturning them.
Justice Melanie Harland said a criminal record would "constantly present adversity" to the man and she discharged him without conviction.
"There is no real public interest in knowing the appellant's identity," she said, also suppressing his name.
The student's spree began on April 18 when he crept into the yard of a flat in Cosy Dell Rd.
CCTV footage showed the man tiptoeing down the side of the property, stopping at a washing line to fondle some women's clothing.
He scarpered when one of the resident's called out, but it was not enough to deter further prowling.
Days later, the defendant targeted three George St properties on the same night.
At the first two, he stole underwear from outside the flats but at the final home, he was more brazen.
The man snuck in through an unlocked back door as the female residents slept.
After grabbing knickers from the lounge he then pocketed two more items from drawers upstairs.
On his way out, he bumped into one of the women who was up getting a drink.
She said he appeared "dazed and confused" and left when she told him to.
The victim snapped him in a photo before he made his exit, the court heard.
Police found him at his home, a short walk away, after responding to reports of a Peeping Tom in Cosy Dell Rd and he admitted what Justice Harland called the "deviant behaviour", saying the intrusions "excited him".
In statements to the court, one of the victims described "living in a state of constant fear and anxiety",
Another said they felt violated by the incident and had experienced sleepless nights.
"The residents were concerned that the appellant had been watching the property," the court heard.
But Justice Harland said the offending was unsophisticated and appeared to be "spur of the moment".
"The appellant appears to have made no attempt to conceal his identity or to enter the relevant properties in an overly clandestine manner," she said.
The defendant explained the underwear thefts could be traced back to him being bullied at high school and turning to pornography to deal with the isolation.
He had since been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and said the crimes had been a way to escape those challenges.
Justice Harland noted the man had since offered to meet with the victims, undertaken therapy, was taking medication and had sworn off pornography.
All factors considered, his offending was at the "lowest end of the moderate scale", she said.
Counsel Anne Stevens KC said her client was an A-average student, doing a double major, in the top 10% of his cohort.
She argued convictions would "condemn him to a life less than his potential and to deprive [his chosen field] and society of that same potential forever".
That view was supported by two university professors who wrote in his support.
Justice Harland accepted the consequences of convictions were "significant and serious", and outweighed the gravity of the crimes.
If the man was named he would likely become a target of vitriol on social media and there was a real risk of self-harm, she said.
Despite finding no fault in the Otago Daily Times' previous reporting of the facts, the judge was critical of the "emotive language" used to describe the case.
"In my view, justice here requires a departure from the principle of open justice," Justice Harland said.
The University of Otago said it had only just become aware of the Court of Appeal judgement and a formal disciplinary process was under way.
