NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Man’s indecent act in front of lawyer in court cell was ‘not welcome at all’

Belinda Feek
Belinda Feek
Open Justice multimedia journalist, Waikato·NZ Herald·
19 Apr, 2023 06:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Charles Williams was being interviewed by a lawyer when he performed the indecent act in the court cell. Photo / 123rf

Charles Williams was being interviewed by a lawyer when he performed the indecent act in the court cell. Photo / 123rf

A man performed an “indecent act” in front of a lawyer in a court jail cell while he asked her to legally represent him.

It remains unclear why Charles Kahu Williams, of no fixed abode in Raglan, began masturbating in front of the duty lawyer but Judge Kim Saunders said she hoped the behaviour was “rare”.

“I expect that duty lawyers are often verbally abused,” Judge Saunders said.

“That likely comes with the job ... but I hope it is very rare that such type of offending occurs and certainly for this particular victim, it was not welcome at all and I can appreciate how she felt about it.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The 29-year-old was being interviewed in the cells of the Hamilton District Court at the end of October last year when he did the indecent act.

Williams had been arrested for a spree of offending around Raglan over several days prior.

In court this week, he admitted a raft of charges in relation to the offending including two charges of unlawfully being in a building one of dangerous driving in October.

He also admitted the indecent act charge and six counts of shoplifting relating to the theft of tobacco, food and drinks from various stores that same month.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When one of the store owners confronted him about his stealing, William’s threatened to “smash” him and was further charged with threatening by way of intimidation.

Other charges stemmed from an incident on October 25 where Williams was seen using a shower on a private property.

He asked the victim to give him some food but the victim felt uneasy and drove away.

Williams ended up following the victim in his car, tailgating him as they drove up Wainui Rd with Williams swerving on to the wrong side of the road into the path of oncoming traffic.

He also admitted the theft of a Nissan Tiida, which had the keys left inside, worth $8000.

In court, Williams’ counsel, Amin Osama, who was not the lawyer subjected to his indecent act, handed up a remorse letter written by his client.

When asked how old Williams was by Judge Saunders, Osama said he was “very young, considering the history that he has and the state of his life”.

Both his personal history and drug use were contributing factors to the numerous charges on which he was being sentenced and said his pre-sentence report painted a “very bleak picture of Mr Williams”.

As for his compulsory driving disqualification for the dangerous driving charge, Osama asked that it be backdated to the time of the offence as he had been in custody the whole time.

Judge Saunders was shocked by the length of his criminal history given Williams’ age.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“You are 29 years old, Mr Williams, and you have already amassed 12 pages of previous convictions, significant dishonesty since your first conviction in 2011 and that has resulted in many sentences of imprisonment.

“But you have not committed any offending of a sexual nature, so I don’t know what was going on or what you were thinking when you committed that offence.

“For someone so young to have committed so many offences with the inevitable daily methamphetamine use leads me to wonder if there is something underneath that still hasn’t been addressed by any of the sentences you have received in the past.”

Judge Saunders said prison was the only option.

After applying discounts for his guilty plea and totality - due to the large number of charges - he was jailed for 10 months and two weeks, and disqualified from driving for six months, backdated to October.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Entertainment

Bad Bunny left US off worldwide tour due to fear of ICE raids at concerns

Watch
11 Sep 08:16 AM
Politics

‘Things are changing’: Te Pāti Māori MP suddenly removed from role, addresses Ferris' post

11 Sep 07:27 AM
New Zealand

Women urge promoter boycott after sex crimes case revealed

11 Sep 07:04 AM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Bad Bunny left US off worldwide tour due to fear of ICE raids at concerns
Entertainment

Bad Bunny left US off worldwide tour due to fear of ICE raids at concerns

Rapper and singer-songwriter Bad Bunny, who was born in Puerto Rico, deliberately avoided booking shows in the US for his upcoming worldwide tour.

Watch
11 Sep 08:16 AM
‘Things are changing’: Te Pāti Māori MP suddenly removed from role, addresses Ferris' post
Politics

‘Things are changing’: Te Pāti Māori MP suddenly removed from role, addresses Ferris' post

11 Sep 07:27 AM
Women urge promoter boycott after sex crimes case revealed
New Zealand

Women urge promoter boycott after sex crimes case revealed

11 Sep 07:04 AM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP