Man pleads not guilty to two charges in relation to alleged prowler incident

A man has pleaded not guilty to two charges relating to an incident in which a person was allegedly prowling outside a woman’s Rotorua home.

The man, who has interim name suppression, has been charged with performing an indecent act with intent to insult and entering a building without authority with intent to commit an imprisonable offence in that building.

The man entered not-guilty pleas to both charges before Judge Greg Hollister-Jones in the Rotorua District Court this morning.

The man first appeared in court earlier this month, when his defence lawyer Scott Mills said the man’s family were concerned about the possibility of “vigilante justice” and requested interim name suppression.

The interim suppression order was granted.

Today, Judge Hollister-Jones ordered continued interim name suppression until a defended name suppression hearing on February 19.

The man is next due to appear in court on April 10 for a case review hearing.

Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.