Illegal regardless of consent, says judge

A 32-year-old man man who texted a 15-year-old girl suggesting they had sex has been spared registering as a sex offender.

Aaron Alexander King, 32, was sentenced in the New Plymouth District Court on one charge of indecent communication with a person under 16. During the sentencing, Judge Peter Rollo said King had been texting the victim when he changed subject and suggested they had sex.

The victim was ‘‘freaked out’’ by the messages and asked King to stop messaging her. ‘‘She was completely innocent in what happened,’’ Rollo said. The judge made it clear to King that sex between a 15-year-old and a 32-year-old was illegal, regardless of consent.

‘‘Had that happened you would have been charged with that offence, a far more serious offence,’’ he said at Friday’s hearing. ‘‘In some respects you have had a lucky break that she spurned your advances.’’ Rollo took into account that King had already spent three months in custody, which was equal to a six month prison sentence, and said if he sentenced him to further prison time he would automatically be added to the sex offenders register, which he decided would be too onerous given the level of offending.

He instead sentenced him to 100 hours’ community work and ordered him to pay $500 in reparation to the girl for the emotional harm, to be paid at $25 a week.