Kevin John Phillips, 73, was sentenced to five months’ home detention when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after admitting exposing an under-16 to indecent material.
"The actions you undertook were essentially grooming — there’s no other word for it," Judge Jim Large said.
"You should have known she was much younger than you. You should have known your actions were totally inappropriate."
Phillips briefly met the victim once in March last year but they began communicating through an online messaging app.
The defendant agreed to provide the teen with vaping products, phone credit and cash, and she in turn would send him X-rated images.
Phillips would uphold his end of the deal by leaving the items at "a pre-arranged secret location" close to the victim’s home.
The contact between the pair — who have a near 60-year age gap — culminated in a live-streamed video chat in which the defendant directed the girl to commit sexual acts.
When confronted by police, Phillips said he was unaware of the victim’s age and stressed it was she who initiated the communication.
"It is not appropriate for you to blame the victim in any sense whatsoever. She did not have the maturity to make choices that adults can make," the judge said.
A statement written by the teenager’s mother was read at the hearing’s outset in which she spoke of her "complete shock" at finding the obscene conversations.
She said she was sure more would have happened without police intervention.
The victim, her mother wrote, was immature for her age but overcompensated by trying to form relationships with older men.
The girl had had a tough life and was "looking for love and affection in all the wrong places".
It had resulted in an over-reliance on social media, which had left her vulnerable, she said.
Counsel Sally McMillan said Phillips had led a "straightforward working life" and had spent his retirement serving his community, volunteering at local organisations.
"He’s not just sorry for what he’s done ... but sorry genuinely for the impact his actions have had," she said.
There was extensive discussion about whether Phillips should be placed on the Child Sex Offender Register.
With no previous convictions, he was seen as a low risk of reoffending but considered a medium risk of harm to others.
Prosecutor Sergeant Chris George argued for registration, which he said would safeguard the community.
"By a fine margin", Judge Large opted not to impose what would be at least eight years of restrictions on the defendant.
During the sentence, and for six months after, Phillips was banned from operating social-media accounts and from contact with under-16s.
