Court documents state the defendant suggested the two \u201cchill in the car for a bit\u201d after the student asked him for a lift home after school. <\/p>\n
The name of the school where Farrell-Moehurori worked and the student attended has been permanently suppressed. <\/p>\n
After parking at a secluded area near a wharf, Farrell-Moehurori asked the boy inappropriate questions about pornography and his sexual experience. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked if he wanted to see it, and the victim took this to mean to see your penis,\u201d the judge recounted, referring to the agreed summary of facts. \u201cHe refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farrell-Moehurori then rubbed the student\u2019s thigh over his clothes for about two minutes before dropping him off at home and telling him to keep it a secret. The boy later told police. <\/p>\n
In a subsequent interview with authorities, Farrell-Moehurori acknowledged rubbing the teen\u2019s thigh but insisted it was for only five to 10 seconds. He confessed to a mixture of guilt and animosity about what happened, claiming that the victim had threatened to tell the school unless Farrell-Moehurori gave him money. <\/p>\n
Judge Sharp mentioned the claim during the sentencing but did not offer an opinion on its validity. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou felt that you were dealt with in a way that was not fair in respect of things,\u201d the judge explained.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, he added, the defendant was willing to discuss the crime in detail and had taken serious steps towards rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
Auckland District Court judge David Sharp. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was wrong and I apologised immediately,\u201d Farrell-Moehurori said during the interview. <\/p>\n
He said he could not explain his behaviour that afternoon. <\/p>\n
The judge told him, \u201cYou acknowledged the victim would have been scared and confused and that you were responsible for ruining the victim\u2019s education pathway, for which you expressed shame and remorse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the incident, Farrell-Moehurori said, his once bubbly personality had been clouded by deep depression. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou were tearful, stating that you had brought shame on your family,\u201d the judge noted. \u201cYou say that you have frequent nightmares, and the incident keeps racing through your head. You say that you cannot forgive yourself and have intense remorse for what you have done.\u201d<\/p>\n
While all that might be true, it was also important to consider that \u201coffences of this nature are noted as being devastating for sensitive teenagers\u201d, the judge added. <\/p>\n
Defence lawyer Scott Williams asked for community detention, but the judge said eight months of more restrictive home detention was the best he could do, given the facts of the case. <\/p>\n
\u201cI realise that that sentence is going to make life difficult for you, but I see no way around it,\u201d he said, also ordering $2000 in emotional harm reparation to be paid in weekly $20 instalments. <\/p>\n
Police prosecutor Yara Alrubayee asked the judge to place the defendant on the sex-offender register. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey point to the risks that you have posed, to the fact that the complainant has been harmed here in a way that is significant and that that harm has been shown to me in victim impact statements…\u201d Judge Sharp explained. \u201cThe mother of the victim also seeks to see you registered on the basis that you would not be able to, or would be less likely to, reoffend.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he ultimately declined the prosecution\u2019s request. <\/p>\n
While an initial assessment found Farrell-Moehurori to present an above-average risk of sexual reoffending, it was a flawed process, the judge said. A more comprehensive follow-up assessment determined there was a low recidivism risk. <\/p>\n
The judge noted that the defendant had voluntarily started counselling and would receive mandatory treatment for harmful sexual behaviour while serving his non-custodial sentence. <\/p>\n
A psychological report prepared for the sentencing hearing concluded that the actions that led to his arrest were \u201cout of character\u201d and the result of the \u201cunexpected opportunity of being alone with the victim\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the judge emphasised the large age gap and the power imbalance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a breach of trust,\u201d he said. \u201cYou were a teacher aide. <\/p>\n
\u201cYour knowledge of the victim and your ability to gain access to the victim directly came from your position of trust and a job that you did, and that was a serious misuse of a trusted position.\u201d<\/p>\n