Child sex offender gets 10 months’ home detention; wins bid to stay in NZ to save his marriage

Summarised by Centrist

A 27-year-old Samoan man who admitted performing indecent acts on a girl between the ages of 10 and 13 has been allowed to remain in New Zealand because deportation could permanently separate him from his wife.

He pleaded guilty in 2023 and received just 10 months’ home detention. The Immigration and Protection Tribunal has now suspended his deportation liability for three years.

The tribunal placed weight on his difficult upbringing, including isolation and mistreatment by his uncle, as well as his subsequent dependence on pornography. It described him as young, naïve and lacking guile, while acknowledging that those factors did not mitigate the offending or its effect on the victim.

MBIE argued that the offending was serious and allowing him to remain would undermine the immigration system. Its lawyer said family separation, hardship and emotional distress were normal consequences of deportation and did not amount to exceptional humanitarian circumstances. His relatively short marriage could also continue online if his wife remained in New Zealand.

The tribunal disagreed. It cited his 10 years in New Zealand, six-year relationship and the possibility that his wife, who does not speak Samoan, would not accompany him. It concluded deportation would probably end the marriage and that allowing him to remain was not contrary to the public interest.

Read more at RNZ

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