A repeat sex offender groped a 13-year-old shortly after serving prison time for four similar crimes against another girl.
On the morning of his trial Riki James Koiatu, 45, pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a teenage girl.
Yesterday, he appeared in the Invercargill District Court and was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.
The court heard that in 2018 the defendant touched the 13-year-old’s thighs, groped her and kissed her on her hand.
The girl pretended to be asleep before telling Koiatu he should not be behaving that way. He agreed, but the assault continued and lasted up to 45 minutes.
Koiatu claimed he only pleaded guilty to the charge because that was the legal advice he was given.
He did not take any responsibility for the offending and believed the victim had made the allegations for attention.
In 2014 the man was convicted for offending in a similar fashion against a 13-year-old babysitter.
Koiatu served an 18-month prison sentence after being convicted of four charges of indecent assault, and less than three years after his release, he committed his most recent crime.
Yesterday, the victim told the court that the event had drastically affected her relationships and impacted her mental health.
"The offending before me today demonstrates a pattern of offending — particularly against young females", Judge Russell Walker said.
Koiatu was automatically registered as a child sex offender.
felicity.dear@odt.co.nz , PIJF court reporter
