Police agreed that intensive supervision would be a suitable outcome. <\/p>\n
Police released CCTV stills and mugshots of Richard Hona while looking for him in 2014. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
But Judge Hermann Retzlaff said a short term of imprisonment was necessary given Hona\u2019s over 50 previous convictions<\/a> for similar offending<\/a> – almost 30 of which resulted in past imprisonment. <\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, that is the sentence that has to be imposed for the protection of the community,\u201d the judge said. <\/p>\n Inclinations resurface<\/p>\n Hona, of Auckland, fell back into old habits again in March, when a fellow passenger on an Auckland Transport bus between Onehunga and New Lynn spotted him acting lewdly over an approximately 10-minute period. <\/p>\n Just two weeks later, he exposed himself to another victim at Avondale Library around 3.30pm – a time when there was the potential for children to be arriving after school. The woman left the building without engaging Hona but was deeply affected to the point where she no longer feels safe in the library or the neighbourhood, the court was told. <\/p>\n \u201cShe was at the library thinking it was a safe place,\u201d Judge Retzlaff told the defendant. \u201cShe was left shocked and frightened so much so she needed to retreat to her car for 30 minutes to collect herself.\u201d<\/p>\n Hona\u2019s history of pubic exposure dates as far back as 1991, with many cases involving masturbating in front of women he did not know while on the bus. <\/p>\n But during sentencing hearings in April and June 2015, the court was told Hona had volunteered just months earlier to start getting injections of Zoladex, a drug commonly used to treat cancer but also a known libido suppressor. <\/p>\n Such drugs, known as chemical castration, have been made mandatory for sex offenders in some overseas jurisdictions, including parts of the United States. In New Zealand, the drugs are available for such purposes but on a voluntary basis. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been considerable physical changes in him, and a reduction of the urges he has had to live with,\u201d Ravelich, his past and present lawyer, told then-Judge Roy Wade at the April 2015 sentencing. \u201cHe no longer fantasises or visualises like he used to.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Wade called Hona an \u201cincorrigible flasher\u201d but ultimately ordered 18 months\u2019 intensive supervision, agreeing with the defence that the then-experimental drug needed to be given a chance to work. <\/p>\n Hona was arrested again for public masturbation five days after the sentencing, and, in June that year, then-Judge Tony Fitzgerald ordered another non-custodial sentence. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s in your interests and it\u2019s in the community\u2019s interests that you maintain that motivation, which is why I\u2019ve opted for the sentence I have,\u201d the judge told him. \u201cIt\u2019s over to you now to make sure you play your part.\u201d<\/p>\n And for the most part, Hona did, his lawyer said last week at his latest sentencing. After the rough start in 2015, Hona\u2019s frequency of offending dropped dramatically over the past decade, Ravelich said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had 15 years of Mr Hona self-medicating and only two sentences of imprisonment,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the past 10 years, we\u2019ve seen full compliance with community-based sentences. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen he\u2019s supervised, he takes his medication.\u201d<\/p>\n The problems only resurfaced, Ravelich added, the couple of times Hona thought he was cured and stopped taking the medication only to have his illegal urges become overwhelming again months later. <\/p>\n Relapse ignored<\/p>\n But after now repeated attempts at intensive supervision, Judge Retzlaff said it was time to consider prison again. <\/p>\n Hona faced up to three months\u2019 imprisonment for both of the current charges of obscenely exposing himself in a public place, which he pleaded guilty to earlier this year. <\/p>\n The judge described the defendant as being in \u201csomewhat of a challenging position that you placed yourself in\u201d due to his insistence that court-ordered rehab programmes don\u2019t work. <\/p>\n Rehab, he said, is \u201conly as effective as you apply yourself to it\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cI see this as entirely your responsibility and a matter you are at fault for,\u201d the judge said, emphasising that 14 days elapsed between each of the two latest offences. \u201cYou would have been aware between these incidents that you were relapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n He ordered a starting point of two months for the first offence and a three-month uplift for the next incident. <\/p>\n He then allowed reductions for Hona\u2019s guilty pleas and for a background report showing an \u201cunfortunate and challenging upbringing, with clear deprivation\u201d. <\/p>\n The judge also noted a letter of apology from Hona in which the defendant described the injections as uncomfortable but effective in fighting his urges to offend. Hona agreed he must keep up with his treatment. <\/p>\n \u201cYou have no excuses,\u201d the judge said, quoting from the letter. \u201cYou are apologetic to the victims for having to see the offending.\u201d<\/p>\n The uplifts and reductions resulted in an end sentence of 1.5 months\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n The judge declined to convert it to a non-custodial sentence. He also ordered six months of post-release conditions.<\/p>\nJudge Hermann Retzlaff sent Richard Hona to prison. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n