Christchurch man sent unsolicited intimate pic to young woman, criticised by judge

The man was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court on one charge of causing harm by posting a digital communication. Photo / George Heard

WARNING: This story deals with sexually explicit detail and may be upsetting.

A man who sent an unsolicited picture of his genitals to a younger woman claims it was meant for his wife, but a judge wasn’t buying it and has blasted him for the serious emotional distress he caused.

Dean Mehrtens sent a string of unwanted sexual messages to the woman, including asking her to send photos of herself.

He appeared at the Christchurch District Court on Friday for sentencing on one charge of causing harm by posting a digital communication.

In March this year, Mehrtens messaged the woman asking to meet at a cafe and talk. She agreed.

However, Mehrtens got into her car and began talking about his sexual preferences and asking about her own, making her feel uncomfortable and “unable to end the conversation”.

Later that day he sent the woman a message asking her to send a photo of herself so he could masturbate.

He then sent the woman a picture of his penis, followed by a string of sexual messages explaining what he wanted to do to her.

When questioned about why he sent the messages and image, Mehrtens said it was meant for his then-wife. Judge Jim Large rejected this, saying he had read the messages and they were clearly not intended for Mehrtens’ wife.

The judge said he was concerned about a letter of support from a friend of Mehrtens, stating that he was “trustworthy” and was being “described unfairly” in relation to the charge.

The judge questioned whether Mehrtens’ friend knew the full extent of his offending.

He said it was “probably an understatement” that the victim felt violated, and the consequences of Mehrtens’ actions were devastating to her.

“She didn’t know how to get out of the situation you put her into that day,” he told Mehrtens.

Mehrtens’ lawyer, Kaitlyn White, said her client had suffered consequences from his offending and was dealing with health issues.

He was willing to engage in restorative justice, but White said that, unsurprisingly, this didn’t go ahead.

White asked the judge to sentence Mehrtens to intensive supervision and community detention.

Judge Large said he needed to impose a sentence that would deter others from engaging in this type of offending, stating that often people don’t think about the consequences of sending sexual photos and messages.

He considered Mehrtens’ early guilty pleas and health circumstances, as well as having to care for his elderly mother.

He sentenced Mehrtens to 18 months of intensive supervision, three months of community detention and ordered him to attend counselling and not to have contact with the victim.

Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.