A man who filmed up a stranger’s skirt at Kmart said he did it because he "hadn’t seen his girl in a while".
Ricci Andrei Rubio Paderanga, 24, failed in his bid to avoid a mark on his criminal record for making an intimate visual recording.
The Dunedin District Court heard yesterday that the defendant was raised in a Christian family and was deeply ashamed and remorseful about what he had done.
While the phone was recording he pushed the basket between a woman’s legs, capturing a video up her skirt.
The victim’s mother noticed and alerted staff.
When spoken to by police, Paderanga said "it just happened" and he thought the victim was ‘‘sexy".
"I haven’t seen my girl in a while," he said.
"I was just being dumb, it was just lust ... when I saw that girl I just wasn’t thinking straight."
Counsel Chris Lynch said her client should be granted a discharge without conviction because he was young, struggled with ADHD and had attended counselling to address his offending.
"He is otherwise, by all accounts, a person of very good character," Ms Lynch said.
"This behaviour on his part shocked everyone that knew him."
Ms Lynch said if a conviction was entered, Paderanga, who was born in the Philippines, would be at risk of being deported.
The court heard he was well behaved at school and was generally of good character.
"He's come from a strict Christian family where his parents have instilled in him good behaviour,’’ Ms Lynch said.
She said a conviction of this nature, which had an "icky" connotation, would likely make it difficult for him to get a job in any industry.
Police prosecutor James Collins said while the defendant was clearly embarrassed by the offending, a conviction would not exacerbate those feelings.
He said there was some intent demonstrated in the offending and the major aggravating feature was the harm to the victim.
Judge Jim Large said the offending was "isolated and unsophisticated" but still serious.
"I accept there are powerful mitigating factors," Judge Large said.
"Your offending. . . [resulted] in an electronic recording of the victim and that was capable of being replayed or shared."
The judge refused the application for a discharge without conviction and sentenced Paderanga to two months’ community detention and 12 months’ supervision.
