Simonsen-Kemp knew a jail term was likely but the judge had to decide how much longer he should stay behind bars, given he’d been in custody for more than nine months.
‘Leaving the station now’
The court heard Simonsen-Kemp’s offending was extensive.
He met the first victim, a 17-year-old girl, after he “randomly added” her from Snapchat in December 2024.
Initially, he told her he was a “cop” to reassure her it was safe for him to pick her up and visit Kmart.
While there, he told her he’d become a cop at such a young age, 18, because he’d previously worked for the NZ Transport Agency and spent lots of time with the police.
He said he’d also done a youth programme when he was 15, so when it came to going to police college, he’d “already done a lot of training”, including driving.
He sent her photos of himself wearing a white police identification card around his neck and attached to his hip.
He kept the ID card in a clear plastic wallet, often attached to his hip on an extendable clip, but he’d tuck it into his pocket when they went out.
Simonsen-Kemp would always have it on him, but never let her touch it, saying this was “something to do with fingerprints”.
When visiting his house, he showed her a program on his laptop that he claimed was the “police database for entering traffic crash reports”.
During January 2025, he texted her, “ill lyk [let you know] when I leave the station xx”, and “leaving the station now”.
The following month, he texted her his supposed police details, including his rank, “Detective” status, badge number, and that he was stationed in Ngāruawāhia.
A few days later, he texted to break up with her, stating: “Being nearly 19, while you’re still 17 has started to affect not only my job but also how people see me”.
A week later, he sent her a screenshot of a text from a fake police officer that said: “Look Charlie. You can date and see that 17 year old but if anything happens its coming back on you. Ball is in your court [sic].”
The following day, he texted her a photo of a patrol car parked at the Waikato police highway patrol base with the words, “c*** took my car park”, followed by, “BRUCE TOOK MY PARKING SPOT”.
‘I’ll let central know’
The girl’s mother worked for VTNZ and she asked Simonsen-Kemp to return a booklet to police. When she texted him about it, he replied, “that appears to be the pad from shauns car”.
He said: “you can tell by the coffee stains, ill let central know or I can swing by later as we keep those on our DLDR system [sic]”, before adding that he’d “make some calls”.
After a series of other messages, he texted her to say he would need to write the situation up as a minor incident as “losing documentation is a serious issue”.
On February 17, he went to Hamilton Central Police Station to ask if his Eftpos card had been handed in.
He told the front-counter employee he was a cop based in Ngāruawāhia and held up a white police ID card.
Charlie Simonsen-Kemp was jailed when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court for sentencing yesterday. Photo / NZME
The employee asked him if he knew an officer in Huntly, and Simonsen-Kemp replied that he knew him and referred to him by his nickname.
He left, and the employee searched his query identifier number, which revealed that it didn’t exist.
In another elaborate incident in June 2024, he told a female associate he worked for NZTA as an emergency responder to crashes.
In February 2025, the woman contacted him after being assaulted and he went to the medical centre, telling her he could “take a statement” and that she could talk to him “about anything law related”.
He began taking a statement and asking numerous questions about the assault, saying he would try to find CCTV footage, and that he had to get back to work because he was working on a sexual assault case.
The ruse continued for another 24 hours.
‘I just wanted people to like me’
When questioned, Simonsen-Kemp said he pretended to be a police officer to “get approval from people and get them to like him”.
When police executed a search warrant at his home, they searched his phone and discovered his offending involving the recruitment agency, illegal use of his grandfather’s driver’s licence, sexually explicit videos, and details of other offending.
A charge of forgery related to him showing a Hamilton City Council “permit” allowing him to undertake pest control after being approached by a security officer as he shot possums at the Taitua Arboretum on May 2 last year.
When questioned, he said he made the document because he “didn’t want to get into trouble”.
Simonsen-Kemp’s counsel Afitu Veatupu kept his submissions concise, saying that although jail was likely, he hoped the judge could get down to 24 months so he could qualify to apply for home detention.
Judge Singh agreed.
He also took into account the various reports that had been prepared, including a mental health report and a remorse letter that Simonsen-Kemp had written.
The judge sentenced him to 19 months’ prison, granting leave to apply when a suitable address became available.
However, he noted that given he’d already served nine and a half months in custody, he only had 10 weeks to go before he’d qualify for time served.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.