Evan Harding16:00, Jul 08 2021
Robyn Edie/Stuff
Christiaan Paul Veldwijk, 44, was sentenced to home detention for two indecent assault charges in late 2019 when he appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Thursday.
A man convicted of indecent assault has shown a pattern of behaviour which is escalating, a judge says. Christiaan Paul Veldwijk, 44, appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Thursday and was sentenced to eight months’ home detention and ordered to pay a $500 emotional harm payment, having earlier admitted two charges of indecent assault on a female in late 2019. Judge Alison McLeod, referring to a pre-sentence report about Veldwijk, said his offending was related to sexual arousal and it appeared to be escalating given “two relevant prior convictions of indecent acts”, in 2010 and 2016.
Blair Jackson16:53, Jul 06 2021
Robyn Edie/Stuff
An Electoral Act charge laid against the Invercargill Advance NZ candidate has been dismissed. Kurt Rohloff, 49, was charged with failing to file election expenses and donation, at Invercargill on February 17, 2021. In the Invercargill District Court on Tuesday, the court registrar said diversion had been completed and the charge was dismissed. Defence lawyer Anna Goble did not seek a continuation of Rohloff’s interim name suppression.
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A farmer has been sentenced to nine months home detention and banned from owning or managing farm animals for four years for serious animal welfare offending.
Bevan Scott Tait had earlier pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer
Bevan Scott Tait received his sentence at the Invercargill District Court on Monday having earlier pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
As a result of Tait s offending, 226 sheep and three lambs had to be euthanised because they were emaciated and suffered from flystrike.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) launched an investigation at the 52-year-old s Tussock Creek, Southland, farm following a complaint in 2019. That led to a series of inspections over a five month period by MPI, farm consultants and veterinarians.
Tait’s lawyer, Tanya McCullum, told Judge John Brandts-Giesen that about 18 months before the issue came to a head, the Ministry of Primary Industries got in touch with Tait and sent someone from Rural Support to see him. Rural Support could see Tait was struggling “but they didn’t actually do anything to support him,” she said. “They could see there were problems, and they could see he was needing help, but essentially they said, do something.” This was insufficient as he needed someone to actually assist him, given his wife was unwell, and he was struggling with his own mental health at the time, she said.
Retired Invercargill doctor Anton De Croos died after Zachary Griffiths, 22, who had been drinking in celebration of crate day hit his vehicle on December 5, 2020. Griffiths was sentenced in the Invercargill District Court on Thursday, for failing to stop to ascertain injury or death after a crash and excess breath alcohol causing death. The court was told Griffiths had celebrated Crate Day by sharing a crate of big beer bottles with a friend, drinking about six, plus three or four Vodka Cruise stubbies during the afternoon and evening. If there were young people drinking, there would be lots of accidents, Thiagan said.