Yuki Nishikawa, 26, was sentenced to six months’ home detention last year on counts of indecent assault as well as possessing MDMA and ketamine.
That sentence is due to expire at the end of May but yesterday in the Dunedin District Court Judge David Robinson cancelled the remainder on the basis the defendant would fly back to Japan on Tuesday.
While the Crown opposed the cancellation on the basis of "sentence integrity", the court heard the victim was comfortable with Nishikawa leaving the country as long as he did not return.
Immigration New Zealand would only allow him back into New Zealand if he received a character waiver and counsel Diane Hubbard said it was highly unlikely that would happen quickly.
Had Nishikawa been deported at the end of his home-detention term — at a cost to the taxpayer — he would have been subject to a five-year ban from returning.
The defendant was working in a central Dunedin night spot while on a student visa when he met the 17-year-old victim in 2023.
The teenager had come to the city with friends to celebrate Re-Orientation Week. Nishikawa let the group into a bar and formed a relationship with them over five days, supplying them with free drinks at times.
On July 15 that year, the intoxicated teen visited Nishikawa at his workplace and he again provided alcohol, offering her a ride home after he finished his shift.
Instead, he took the victim to his North East Valley flat and she got into his bed, fading in and out of consciousness.
Nishikawa groped and kissed her even as she pulled away.
She later messaged a friend: ‘‘he’s taken advantage of me’’.
Nishikawa was arrested before boarding a flight to Japan.
His visit to the airport next week would be closely monitored by Corrections.
The court heard he would have his electronic anklet removed in Dunedin before being reattached at Auckland Airport.
It would finally be removed at the international terminal as he boarded a flight home.
"This was serious offending. I would have no difficulty with the concept you not be permitted to return to New Zealand," Judge Robinson said.
