Judge tells man who sent inappropriate messages to ‘get a job’

A young man who sent inappropriate Snapchat messages to two underage girls he knew has been told by a judge to “get a job and take care of himself”.

William Johnstone, 26, was unable to explain to a judge when he appeared in Wellington District Court recently why he sent the inappropriate messages other than to say it was a stupid decision and “his brain told him to do it”.

But judge Nicola Wills didn’t buy it.

“It wasn’t one decision, it was a series of decisions. You sent a photo, then a video, then another video, then another video,” she said.

The court heard that Johnstone had originally sent the message to the 12-year-old’s Snapchat account.

Her 14-year-old friend who used the account asked why she was asking for it. He told the girl he wanted to make friends, and the older girl sent a photo of her face, making it clear it was not the younger girl who was responding.

Johnstone then sent the photo and videos. The court heard he had also tried to contact one of the girls a year earlier.

Victim impact statements read to the court said the 12-year-old felt robbed of her innocence, saying he pretended not to know what he was doing when he did. The second girl described how she struggled to see friends and socialise and had now dropped out of school.

Police prosecutor Lydia McIvor said Johnstone’s offending involved a breach of trust he had in his victims.

Johnstone’s lawyer, Curtis Fatiaki, said his client had no previous convictions, was remorseful and had lost his current job as a result of the charges.

Judge Wills said Johnstone’s remorse was insufficient and he owed more to his victims.

“You failed to adequately explain your actions to your probation officer or attorney today. Other than that it was a one-time, deeply regrettable incident, and may be related to your use of marijuana to treat anxiety.”

Judge Wills told Johnstone he must be held accountable for what he had done.

“But really, you need to get a job and you need to do some work on yourself and find out why on earth you did it to make sure you never do it again,” Judge Wills said.

On a charge of willfully disclosing indecent material to a person under 16, Johnstone was found guilty and sentenced to six months’ community detention. He was placed under a curfew, ordered to seek counseling and not to contact victims without the prior consent of his probation officer.

* This story originally appeared in Herald of New Zealand.