The police summary of facts paints a picture of Harris regularly drugging visitors at the backpackers, rendering them unconscious. He would then photograph them, and get into bed and "spoon" or cuddle them from behind.
He selected young males he was attracted to and offered them free accommodation and food in exchange for taking on cleaning and caretaking roles at the premises.
Harris mixed Temazepam, a powerful sedative used to treat insomnia, often in orange juice and offered it to his backpackers.
He obtained Temazepam by telling doctors he had insomnia.
His victims would become extremely tired, to the point where they could not keep their eyes open, and would occasionally suffer from amnesia.
Harris took advantage of the backpackers' loss of consciousness by undressing them, exposing them in their underwear and posing them for photos.
One victim recalled Harris saying things like "I love you to bits matey, you're so warm" while spooning and holding him tightly.
Another victim refused to drink orange juice laced with Temazepam and even locked the door and pushed his bed against it so Harris could not enter the room.
In court yesterday, Justice John Fogarty allowed a victim to read his victim impact statement.
After the statement was read out, Harris asked if he could respond to the man directly.
"I just wanted to say sorry," he said holding back tears.
He rubbed his face and removed his glasses.
"I do sincerely apologise. I'm glad you came today. Thank you."
On what he thought about Harris' apology, the man said: "I think he was sincere. He realises what he did was wrong."
The abuse, he said, had not put him off visiting New Zealand in the future or recommending others come here.
He said the aftermath of the incident had left a mark but he had tried to put it behind him.
"When I think about it, it feels kind of gross. It's scary how easy it was for him to drug me. The fact he did it over and over to many people shows he had a plan, to an extent."