Victims named to cause 'emotional harm'

Police have accepted a woman who published sexual abuse victims' names on Facebook did not know there was a suppression order.

Nicola Witheford's partner was convicted of sexual offences against the three victims on May 13. Four days later, Witheford posted the victims' names on the Buy Sell Swap Wanganui Facebook page.

Victims of sexual crime have automatic name suppression.

The post was removed within a couple of hours when Facebook users realised the information should not be on there and contacted police.

Witheford pleaded guilty in the Whanganui District Court to breaching the suppression order, but said she did not know about it.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Stephen Butler accepted on Wednesday Witheford did not know, and changed the wording of the charge from "wilfully" breaching the order to "recklessly".

The defendant sees herself as a victim, not of her partner, but as a victim of the victims.

Judge Philip Crayton

Duty lawyer Jamie Waugh raised comparisons to the case, mentioning that Joe Karam was fined $400 for publishing the name of a girlfriend of David Bain.

He said Michael Laws was discharged without conviction on another case where Mr Laws described a person he called a "kiddy fiddler" on national radio.

Judge Philip Crayton pointed out the two other cases related to media, rather than a member of the public who had never dealt with the court, saying the examples were "vastly different" to Witheford's.

"On its face, the clear intent, which is vocalised and recorded in the [pre-sentence] report, is to effectively make the complainants suffer in a manner that she felt her partner and her were having to suffer."

He said the post was made with the desire to publicly and emotionally harm the victims.

"One can't help but come to the conclusion that even on a reckless basis she's made life extremely difficult for herself.

"The defendant sees herself as a victim, not of her partner, but as a victim of the victims. We all know, spending time in these courts, if you have somebody who is, whatever the offence, the partner of a person convicted of serious criminal offending who gets sentenced to a significant term of imprisonment, inevitably the victims extend to the family of the defendant."

Reading the pre-sentence report, Judge Crayton said it struck him that Witheford was having "significant difficulty in grasping that the author of her misfortune is her partner".

Mr Waugh said Witheford did not accept her partner's guilt.

Judge Crayton said her attitude was a "significant concern".

He said he had not encountered a case similar to hers in 31 years of practice.

He ordered a new pre-sentence report and remanded Witheford to October 12 for sentence.