Serial public masturbator avoids imprisonment

Richard Hona. Photo / supplied

A serial public masturbator has avoided imprisonment after exposing his genitals on a bus just days after he was in court for a similar incident.

Richard Hona, 45, has a lengthy criminal history spanning nearly three decades, which includes more than 40 convictions for exposing himself in public, largely on buses, and masturbating in front of women.

He appeared for sentencing at the Auckland District Court today after pleading guilty to wilfully doing an indecent act on a Newmarket bus on April 6 - just five days after he was sentenced for masturbating near women on a bus twice earlier this year.

On that occasion, he avoided jail time and received an intensive supervision sentence so an experimental chemical castration drug treatment could continue.

His lawyer said the medication meant he was "no longer physically capable of being aroused" at the time.

Today he was sentenced to two years of intensive supervision under the conditions of not taking public transport and continuing counselling as well as the medication.

Defence lawyer Brett Ravelich said the system had failed his client.

Hona committed his first offence of a sexual nature when he was 17 and had been in and out of prison ever since - often serving two-year sentences - without receiving severely-needed medical treatment, Mr Ravelich said.

Doctors had upped his medication and added another libido-suppressing tablet which they believed would sort out the continual offences, he said.

"The doctors are simply doing the best they can with what they've got," Mr Ravelich said."

The issue is are we going to spend [thousands of dollars] to continue housing Mr Hona or are we going to try something different?"

Judge Tony Fitzgerald said imprisonment would not work to deter Hona, who had offended "time and time again".

All sentencing options had been tried before without success, he said.

He said judicial monitoring would also be good to "keep an eye" on Hona's medical progress.

"I probably don't need to encourage you, I will encourage you but I'm hoping you understand the importance of continuing to work with [ the doctors].

"It's in your interests and it's in the community's interests that you maintain that motivation which is why I've opted for the sentence I have...it's over to you now to make sure you play your part," Judge Fitzgerald told Hona.

Police prosecutor Mark Sweetman said a prison sentence would have been more appropriate.

Hona had "14 pages" of criminal history spanning back to 1987 and most of his previous convictions were for similar crimes, largely masturbating on buses in front of females, he said.

Outside the court, Mr Ravelich told NZME. News Service there needed to be a multi-agency public protection service in place for offenders like Hona.

He said many countries, including Scotland, had support systems in place so offenders were not "thrown back onto the streets" once they left jail.

"There should be state duty for these sorts of people. If we were serious about rebuilding people, is that how we start, by throwing them out on the street?"