Auckland man who duped three prostitutes with fake bank payments dodges rape charge, faces jail

The man tricked three Auckland prostitutes into having sex by showing them fake online payment records worth thousands of dollars. File photo / 123rf

A man who tricked three prostitutes by faking online banking records showing he’d paid them thousands of dollars for sex has dodged a rape charge but faces up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced today.

In one case he even forged a lab test document showing a clear blood test result to convince a woman to have unprotected sex.

The then 27-year-old was charged with three counts of rape.

The Crown argued his duplicity meant his victims did not have informed consent when they agreed to have sexual intercourse, believing they had been paid for the intimate acts.

However, two of the rape charges were later dropped and a judge ruled the man had not committed rape as the laws in New Zealand currently stand.

The man will appear for sentencing today in Auckland District Court for using a forged document and three charges of obtaining by deception.

He is seeking permanent name suppression and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Court documents obtained by the Herald set out details of his offending.

Between April and September 2022, the man made contact with the three sex workers via the social media platform “Seeking Arrangements”.

He offered to pay the first woman $2000 for sex and later met her in a Starbucks cafe. He asked for her bank account number and typed it into his laptop computer then showed the woman what appeared to be a successful internet banking payment message.

The man had sex with the three women at an Auckland CBD hotel.

They went to a nearby CBD hotel and had sex. When the woman realised the next day she had not been paid she messaged the man but he did not respond and later blocked her.

He contacted the second victim on Seeking Arrangements in August that year. The man asked her to obtain a health check prior to meeting so they could have unprotected sex.

She asked him to undergo his own health check, including an HIV blood test. The man later sent her a forged Lab Tests result document showing he was clear of HIV.

The next month, he met the woman at the same Starbucks cafe and agreed to pay her $2000. He showed her another fake payment message and they went to a nearby hotel for sex.

That night he sent the woman an email claiming that he’d contacted his bank manager to cancel the payment because they were “not compatible”.

“However, the payment confirmation screen that had been shown to [the woman] had been false, and no money had been or was ever transferred,” a summary of facts states.

The third victim was duped in the same way and also blocked after realising she had not been paid.

The man declined to comment when spoken to by police. Reparation of $2000 is being sought for each woman.

Crown argued consent must be ‘full, voluntary, free and informed’

The man was originally charged with three counts of rape, and three charges in the alternative of obtains by deception, as well the forgery charge.

The Crown eventually withdrew two of the rape charges and the man’s lawyer David Dickinson applied to have the remaining rape charge thrown out.

He argued there was no legal basis for a charge of rape when consent had been obtained through fraudulent means.

However, the Crown argued consent must be “full, voluntary, free and informed”.

In this case the man had engaged in “dishonest and fraudulent conduct” designed to trick the victims into allowing sexual activity to take place.

“It follows that the complainant’s consent was obtained by this deliberate deception”, meaning there was no informed consent, the Crown argued.

“Absent the deception, the complainant would not have agreed to engage in sexual activity.”

Judge Kevin Glubb dismissed the man's rape charge. Photo / Dean Purcell

A decision by Judge Kevin Glubb in April this year sided with the defence.

He said the law did not support a rape charge in the circumstances and the charge was therefore dismissed.

Despite being deceived about payment, the victim was not misled as to the act itself, the judge found.

A law change would be needed before a court could find a deliberate act of fraud impaired a person’s consent to sexual activity.

While there may be “some appetite” for such a law change to recognise a person’s right to free and informed consent, the case had to be assessed under current legal frameworks.

“While the complainant might not have agreed to allow sexual activity absent the purported payment, that of itself does not vitiate the consent freely given to the act of intercourse.”

The rape charge was dismissed.

Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.

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