Stalker infatuated with checkout girl

A Te Puke man became infatuated with a teenage girl working at a local supermarket and stalked her for several months, regularly visiting her checkout, writing her love letters, sending her flowers and notes to call him despite numerous warnings to stop.
Edward Whareotiri Rahiri, 51, pleaded guilty to one charge each of wilful trespass and criminal harassment in Tauranga District Court this week.
Rahiri's offending began in 2009 when the victim was 17 and continued until May 4 this year. His lawyer, Cate Andersen, said it started not long after Rahiri's wife died.
In August 2009, Rahiri began regularly going through the victim's Countdown supermarket checkout to pay for his groceries.
The victim and her work colleagues soon noticed his visits became more regular - three to four times a week.
Even though other shoppers were waiting in line and other checkouts were free, Rahiri would wait until he could be served by the victim.
This behaviour continued for about three weeks until one evening after serving him, the victim saw him standing outside the shop watching her through the window as she worked.
Worried, the victim told a colleague who went outside to talk to Rahiri. Rahiri handed over a letter and asked her to pass it on to the victim, in which he wrote that he loved the victim from the day he first saw her and believed she felt the same way.
He said he wasn't married or in any relationship and asked her text him if she wanted to, signing the letter off with "Always thinking of you" and providing his cellphone number.
Shaken and upset, the victim told her boss who rang the cellphone number and told Rahiri to leave the victim alone and warned him he would be trespassing if he visited the supermarket. Rahiri told the woman's boss it wasn't his business and hung up.
A week later Rahiri sent the woman a bouquet of flowers which were delivered to her grandparents' house with a card saying "text me if you want to".
The victim's grandparents and her mother told Rahiri to stay away from the victim and the flowers were returned to him.
But about a week later he turned up at her grandparents' house trying to obtain the victim's phone number and again was told to leave her alone.
A few weeks later, the victim attended a music festival at Matakana Island at which Rahiri was working as security and he began following her. He said he "had to talk to her" but was told to go away.
About a month later he again turned up uninvited at her grandparents' house while the victim was visiting.
In March last year the victim shifted away from Te Puke yet two weeks later Rahiri phoned her grandparents telling them he feared for her safety, saying he believed her boyfriend had shot her and he was worried. On July 25, as a result of the ongoing harassment, the victim's grandparents had a trespass notice served on Rahiri by police and the problems ceased.
But this March, not long after the victim resumed her job, the harassment started again. Following another visit to the store, Rahiri sat outside in his car watching her.
On April 20, Rahiri again sent the victim flowers and a card stating: "To the most bravest gorgeous woman in the world. Luv xxx [his cellphone number] P.S. I now know how use my phone." The victim's mother stuffed the flowers in Rahiri's letter box.
On April 23 and May 4, Rahiri turned up uninvited to the victim's grandparents house wanting to know how she was after claiming he heard she was sick, and was again told to leave her alone.
In desperation, the victim went to the police for help. Police spoke to Rahiri on May 5 but he gave no explanation for his actions.
Ms Andersen told Judge Heather Simpson that this offending began not long after Rahiri's wife died and he believed he could still communicate with his wife telepathically and received telepathic communications during his visits to the supermarket.
Rahiri was remanded on bail for sentencing on August 25. Judge Simpson called for a departmental psychologist report with the pre-sentence report.
Recent cases of stalking
* In March this year Tauranga sales rep Dean Andrew Peddle was fined $400 plus $132.89 court courts and ordered to pay $500 emotional harm after he was found guilty of loitering near a teenage woman's workplace, driving past her work at least 11 times in one day and a year after she says he followed her and repeatedly drove past her while out walking.
* In September 2008 Tauranga man Thomas Zein, then aged 25, was ordered to come up if called upon and ordered to pay $400 emotional harm after stalking a young woman by following her to the gym, text messaging her up to 20 times a day and threatening to kill himself if she would not be his friend.
* In March 2008 Glen Dallas Goldberg, 38, dubbed the country's most notorious stalker, had 20 months added to his six-year jail sentence after he sent a flood of letters to his former partner's family from prison, included one to his ex-partner's mother containing pictures taken by police of the scene where her de facto husband killed himself.