Father avoids jail over under-skirt pictures

Wayne Golding-Clarke and his wife, Marion, said they had prepared their family for the worst. Picture / Chris Skelton

A man who escaped a prison sentence yesterday for putting his camera-capable cellphone beneath the skirts of two women shoppers in Hamilton says he regrets his actions.

Wayne Golding-Clarke, 43, of Morrinsville, was sentenced in the Hamilton District Court after being convicted last month on two counts of committing an indecent act.

Judge Robert Wolff said he was satisfied that 50 hours' community work was appropriate punishment, as the deterrent aspect of the sentence was being addressed through high media interest.

The women Golding-Clarke filmed have never been aware of what he got up to. He was spotted on a security camera.

Outside court Golding-Clarke and his wife, Marion, told the Herald they had prepared their family for the worst and were relieved at the community-based sentence.

Golding-Clarke said he had never been a consumer of pornography.

"I did it because at the time I was on the edge in terms of work. I was confused."

"Some people turn to drink," his wife added. Golding-Clarke said he had left his job as a mental health worker as a result of his arrest and conviction. He was now home-schooling his children.

In court, Crown prosecutor Charles Bean told Judge Wolff that the "advent of relatively new technology" meant there were no similar crimes of the sort in New Zealand jurisdiction. A maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment was available to the judge, Mr Bean said.

However, it was recommended that a "stern sentence of community work or a short, sharp, shock by way of a small sentence of imprisonment" be handed down.

The crimes were premeditated and predatory, Mr Bean said. They took place in two separate shops in the Hamilton CBD, including Farmers department store.

Mr Bean said Golding-Clarke had spoken to the Herald on Sunday after his conviction. In the article he appeared to have "minimalised" his crime, suggesting the act was a spontaneous one.

The accused had therefore shown no genuine remorse.

Defence lawyer James Parlane said Golding-Clarke had no previous convictions and was at low risk of re-offending.

No pictures of genitals had been recorded and touching had not taken place during the offending.

Judge Wolff commended Golding-Clarke for not denying any of the facts presented during the trial.

However, the judge criticised the "gross misjudgment" in legally challenging the threshold of what the community deemed "indecent" as opposed to "offensive".