He was arrested by police as they responded to two incidents of violence in the city on Monday.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said Dunedin police were called to an assault in Vogel St, at 3pm.
After kicking over rubbish, the man approached a woman, who was unknown to him, and allegedly blew vape smoke in her face, spat at the ground in front of her and grabbed her by the sleeve as she was walking.
A Vogel St office worker told the Otago Daily Times he had an earlier encounter with a person he believed to be the same man.
The worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was walking along Vogel St on his lunch break when he saw the man underneath the bridge "talking to no-one in particular".
On his way back to work, about 2pm, the man ran up to him from behind and started talking about child pornography.
He repeatedly insinuated the worker was a paedophile, telling this to other people they passed on the street and implied he was going to blackmail him.
"He was actually trying to embarrass me in front of strangers I suppose, or put me in a situation where I felt had to pay him up or something."
He alleged the man spat at his feet, in a similar fashion to what the woman experienced, and also claimed he was "breeding super bacteria in [his] mouth".
The man was unknown to the worker.
The man appeared in court yesterday on charges of assaulting an unknown person and disorderly behaviour.
He was remanded in custody with no plea on any charges and will reappear in court on January 16.
Later that day, at 6pm, Snr Sgt Bond said police responded to an assault, in Moray Pl.
A 53-year-old man was walking across the road when he was approached by a 17-year-old.
The teen confronted the man and punched him in the face, Snr Sgt Bond said, leaving him with minor injuries of swelling and soreness to the face.
The assailant ran away but was later found by police and arrested.
- Police: 105.
