A judge has warned sexual offences against under-age victims will almost certainly lead to jail, regardless of whether consent is involved.
The warning came in Napier District Court on Friday as Judge Geoff Rea sentenced 39-year-old Nigel Francis Coles to two years and one month in prison for the "blatant sexual predation" of a 13-year-old boy.
The judge said Coles knew the boy was under-age and was in "no real position" to make an informed decision about consent.
Coles, who has a wife and children, arranged online to meet the boy, otherwise unknown to him, in a public toilet on March 31.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful sexual connection as a result of the meeting.