Interpol have been alerted to warrants for Crause's arrest and his wife, Brigitte Daniele Crause, has been charged with making false statements to help her husband get a fake passport and conspiring to defeat the course of justice.
''(Police say) he used fraudulent means to obtain a genuinely-issued New Zealand passport under another name. That's why his wife subsequently is now facing the charges in relation ... to making a written statement knowing it to be false,'' Mr McAlley said.
"We believe at this stage that he used a false passport to leave New Zealand and he arrived in Australia and he has then used his genuine New Zealand passport to go from Australia to the RSA (Republic of South Africa).''
Crause's daughter, Toni, told APNZ she could not remember how long since she last spoke to her father.
Toni, 19, said it had been a stressful time for the family.
"I don't know how long he's been gone for ... a while,'' she said.
Crause was found guilty of four counts of having a sexual connection with an underage girl, four counts of doing an indecent act with an underage girl, and two counts of selling cannabis.
Mr McAlley said police had already received information from the public about the case.
"We encourage others to (come forward). These are very serious offences and if anyone does have any information I would urge them to contact the Hamilton Police on 07 858 6200.''
