They stayed in the house overnight consuming alcohol and food, and left in the morning taking items of clothing and footwear, $56 from a piggy bank, keys to a rental property and a backpack full of alcohol.
They then walked to the whitebaiter's hut, cutting a padlock to gain entry and replacing it with one taken from the previous address.
They took chairs from the house to the hut, which they used as a "hangout' for several days, during which they frequently revisited the house, making more phone calls and stealing a laptop computer.
Eventually, the stolen furniture was tossed into the Hokitika River.
When arrested, Fraser blamed everything on the 15-year-old. He admitted spending one night at the house and consuming some wine but said he did not steal anything. He denied being one of a group of young people who kept going back and looting the house.
Ms Cornish said in her victim impact statement that items valued at more than $12,000 had been stolen including cash, jewellery, cosmetics, medicines, a computer and furniture. Many of the items had sentimental value and were irreplaceable.
She had been almost bankrupted by their acts and challenged Fraser to name the associates who had helped loot her property. "This bloke not only moved into my house but moved into my bed and invited his mates around," Ms Cornish told the court.
"He has stolen, and continues to steal, my husband's quality of life and has no remorse. If he had, he would name the thugs that he calls friends, thugs that get to sleep in their own beds and are protected by their families. I hope that the judge sees fit to send this thug to prison for the longest possible time."
Judge Lindsay Moore described the burglary as the "rape of a person's security in their home", but said Fraser was a first offender and was unlikely to be sent to jail.
"However, you heard today of the terrible damage that you did and a lot of people will think that nothing less than prison is appropriate for it," the judge told him.
