Ōamaru man beaten, robbed, blackmailed over alleged underage sex deal

A man who went to an Ōamaru park after allegedly agreeing to pay a 14-year-old for sex was beaten up, robbed and then blackmailed for $10,000.

An Ōamaru mother was this week convicted of blackmail in the case.

The woman, who has name suppression, appeared in the Ōamaru District Court, where she was sentenced to almost seven months’ home detention by Judge Dominic Dravitzki.

She was ordered to pay back $5000 to the man, who had allegedly been sending pictures of his genitalia to young teenage girls.

On May 11, the 22-year-old man is said to have messaged a 14-year-old friend of the defendant’s daughter and offered her $1000 to have sex with him.

She agreed and arrangements were made to meet.

At 7.15pm on May 12, the man drove from South Canterbury to King George Park in Ōamaru to meet the girl.

Instead, he was met by two men, one of whom was armed with a baseball bat.

Court documents said the pair “bashed and robbed him”.

The man, “who was injured, in shock and extremely traumatised”, handed over $5000 and drove home to South Canterbury, the court heard.

As he drove, he received five messages on social media, directing him to transfer more money to various bank accounts.

The mother accessed her daughter’s Snapchat account and sent the man a threatening message, demanding a further $5000. The man obeyed.

Counsel Michael de Buyzer said the woman’s actions were a “kneejerk and spontaneous reaction” but the judge said what the woman did next would prove her demands were persistent.

On May 18, she accessed her daughter’s Snapchat account again and sent an “expletive-filled message” accusing the man of being a paedophile.

She demanded a further $5000 within the hour or she would report him to police. Again, the man complied.

“This is a deeply distressing allegation to be levelled against him but, in this case, it is not without some basis,” Judge Dravitzki said.

“The conduct of any victim can be taken into account as a mitigating factor ... but the court cannot be seen in any way to be condoning your actions.

“The behaviour of the victim was in many ways extremely triggering for you.”

De Buyzer said the case was “in a category of its own” due to the “unique and unusual” factors at play.

The mother denied any knowledge of the beating and the judge accepted she had no part in it.

She was convicted of blackmail and accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes.

She told police she needed the $10,000 to buy a car, but subsequently spent it on clearing debt, household goods and online gambling.

The 22-year-old man is facing charges for his alleged predatory behaviour.