Addict jailed for tourist spot thefts

Rotorua Courthouse

An "intelligent and calculating" Rotorua man who stole more than $16,000 worth of property from tourists' cars has been sent to prison for eight months.

Sionne John Sevaki, 24, appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday after previously pleading guilty to six theft charges from six separate occasions.

Judge Barbara Morris said she would grant leave for Sevaki if suitable residential addiction treatment became available during his sentence. The charges relate to thefts from tourists' vehicles at the Kerosene Creek carpark between May 24 and June 4.

A police summary of facts said Sevaki broke into six vehicles, stealing $800-$5000 of property from each. The offending carried "consequences beyond the monetary and personal losses suffered by individual victims due to the damage caused to the reputation of Rotorua as a tourist destination".

Police had found a haul of stolen property, drugs and drug paraphernalia when they searched Sevaki's home on June 5. Sevaki had told police he stole to get money for a methamphetamine habit.

In her victim impact statement, one German tourist said her "whole trip and view of the country had been tainted by [Sevaki's] crime". Another victim said he felt "isolated and vulnerable" after being targeted in a country "on the other side of the world".

Judge Morris said Sevaki was "at a crossroads". "Your offending is born out of your drug addiction and now is your chance to get that addiction under control so you can front up to the community and be a better person." He had been described as intelligent, calculating and aware of the impact his offending would have, but showed he had taken responsibility for his actions with his early guilty plea.

There was no reparation order.