A Wānaka man masturbated as he drove after indecently assaulting a teenaged girl in his car, a court has heard.
About the same time, Trent Sayer groped another teen victim three times in the space of a few months.
The interim name suppression concealing the 26-year-old’s identity lapsed at his sentencing in the Queenstown District Court last week.
When he put his hand on her thigh, she told him to stop.
A short time later, he suddenly braked and put out his arm as if to stop her rocking forward.
He then dragged his hand across her chest, groping one of her breasts.
A few minutes later, she noticed he was masturbating as he continued driving.
When they reached her destination and she went to get out, he grabbed her from behind and touched her bottom.
Sayer, who was moving in the same social circles as the second victim, groped her three times between November 2022 and February last year.
In the first incident, he put his hand on her thigh while she was in his car, keeping it there despite her efforts to move away from him.
Two months later, he put his hands on her bottom while walking behind her.
On the last occasion, he grabbed her bottom at a party as she was bending down to pick something up from the floor.
The first victim told the court she had battled depression, anxiety and insomnia since the assault by "this disgusting man".
She now found it hard to trust people, even those close to her.
The emotional impact of the incident had led to her losing her job, and she often took out her frustration and anger on her boyfriend.
"I miss being happy the way I was, with no care in the world, no worries or stresses."
Judge Russell Walker praised the first victim for reading her victim impact statement in court, telling her it took "real courage and bravery".
He read out a statement by the second victim, who said she now felt "unsafe", and had become socially isolated.
Sayer, who denied the charges before accepting a sentence indication in February, told his pre-sentence report writer the offending was the "most shameful thing I’ve ever done".
He could not explain his behaviour, he said.
Judge Walker said the offending was aggravated by the defendant’s premeditation, his breach of the victims’ trust and that on two occasions they were in his car and could not escape.
He took into account Sayer’s guilty plea, lack of previous convictions and "personal background factors" to reach a sentence of 12 months’ prison.
That was converted to six months’ community detention at a Wānaka address.
Sayer must also complete 100 hours’ community work, and is subject to 12 months’ supervision to enable intervention for drug, alcohol and other offending-related issues.
