Rape Crisis ripped off by addict

Shane Henare stole four cheques worth a total of $3880 from the charity Rape Crisis. File photo / NZ Herald

Trips to the Whangarei Rape Crisis to pick up his wife paid off handsomely for former gambling addict Shane Patrick Henare.

Henare stole four cheques worth a total of $3880 on different occasions in July and August last year while waiting for his wife who worked at the charity which helps victims of rape. Henare managed to cash all the cheques in banks around central Whangarei but now he faces the possibility of going to prison.

He had a gambling problem and stole the cheques to pay off gambling debt, the Whangarei District Court heard this week.

Rape Crisis coordinator Sandra Peipi said for a cash-strapped organisation that relied on donations and volunteers, feelings of hurt and betrayal over Henare's actions were huge.

He pleaded guilty to four charges of taking a document for pecuniary advantage and four of using a document for pecuniary advantage and appeared for sentencing in the court this week.

He agreed to pay $1500 up front and the rest later but Judge John McDonald said he would not sentence Henare until the initial $1500 had been paid.

A pre-sentence report recommended that he be sent to jail but his lawyer Dave Sayes said that a non-custodial sentence was appropriate.

He said since his offending, Henare had attended over 300 gambling counselling sessions and has had enormous family support to turn his life around.

Ms Peipi, who read her victim impact statement in court, said her organisation had struggled for government funding.

As a result of Henare's actions, Rape Crisis has had to buy a safe and change its locks. "Members are mystified as to how a man could steal from his wife's employers, especially as she at this time was the sole income earner in their household," Ms Peipi said.

Henare will be sentenced on November 19.