A Kaitaia businessman on numerous charges of indecently assaulting has been denied bail.
Daniel Luke Taylor, 37, appeared in the Kaitaia District Court yesterday, where Judge Greg Davis said it appeared he had conducted a campaign of grooming young boys. Taylor was preparing to leave for Australia when he was arrested after learning of the police investigation, the court heard.
The judge said Taylor, until recently the vice-chairman of the Kaitaia Business Association, would present a "real and appreciable" risk of further offending if he was released from custody.
He is due back in court on December 18 on 19 charges of indecent assaults on boys aged under 12, 12 to 16 and 16 years and over. No pleas have been entered.
The final stages of the bail application were heard in Taylor's absence after he collapsed and was carried back to the cells by three constables. Court was adjourned while staff called an ambulance.