A Queenstown man who made an intimate video recording of a Queenstown sex worker without her consent has been granted a discharge without conviction.
When he asked the victim if he could film her with his phone, she said no.
He persisted, saying he would not include her face in the video, but she repeated she did not consent to being filmed.
After they had sex, the still-naked victim went to the kitchen to get the defendant a glass of water.
When she returned to the bedroom, she noticed he had set up his phone on a bench at the end of the bed with the camera pointing towards the bed.
She picked up the phone, saw it was recording and challenged the defendant, who admitted he had begun filming.
The video was immediately deleted.
Counsel Ben Alexander said the offending was spontaneous and "unsophisticated".
The defendant had immediately admitted his guilt, agreed to take part in restorative justice, had written a letter of apology to the victim and made donations to three charities totalling $500.
The defendant was living in New Zealand on a post-study work visa, and a conviction would have significant consequences for his immigration status and ability to obtain future visas, Mr Alexander said.
His job and prospects of future employment would also be jeopardised, impacting extended family in his home country to whom he remitted $2500 a month.
Judge Russell Walker said the man’s behaviour was a breach of trust and an "affront to privacy", but accepted Mr Alexander’s submissions the defendant was a basically honest man for whom the charge was a "huge wake-up call".
He had no previous convictions in New Zealand or his home country.
A conviction would mean the defendant would require a character waiver for all future visa applications, and could potentially lead to his deportation.
He granted the discharge without conviction and ordered the defendant pay the victim $1000 reparation for emotional harm.
