Ex-leader of motorbike club assaulted kids

FILE

The Rotorua-based former head of a motorcycle club has admitted a raft of charges of assault against a woman and children.

Kevin James O'Hallaron, the former president of Native Sons Motorcycle Club central chapter, pleaded guilty in the Rotorua District Court this month to 13 charges of assault on a child and three of assault on a female.

Some of the charges were representative, meaning the assaults happened more than once.

The offending happened in locations across the North Island and involved five victims, all aged under 18. The youngest was 3 at the time of the offending.

According to the police summary of facts, O'Hallaron would order the youngest victim to strip naked, lock her in a glasshouse or a shed or force her to walk naked down a driveway, kicking the child's buttocks in the process.

O'Hallaron also struck some of the victims with a leather belt or put his hands around their throats, causing them to choke, the summary said.

It stated that in one incident "the defendant produced a plastic imitation gun and pointed it at [the victim's] face".

In another incident, O'Hallaron grabbed one of the victims by the hair and pushed her into a chest.

"[The victim] told the defendant that she would contact the police if he touched her again. To this, the defendant told [her] that she would be 'six foot under' by the time police arrived," the summary said.

The offending happened between October 2008 and July 2013.

Last month it was reported O'Hallaron and the Native Sons club donated more than $1000 worth of food to a local charity, The Koha Shed, set up to help struggling families. A former Native Sons member said O'Hallaron also recently took part in White Ribbon Day events.

O'Hallaron will be sentenced in the court on March 6.