Supervision for Orbiter bus sex pest
A jury took only 16 minutes to find a Christchurch man guilty of being a sex pest who touched a schoolgirl during a daylight trip on the Orbiter bus.
The jury had been shown the bus security video which confirmed what the 18-year-old said in evidence about her encounter with 45-year-old Mark Burton Mabin.
After the rapid guilty verdict on the charge of indecent assault, Mabin was given a first strike warning and remanded for sentencing in the Christchurch District Court today by Judge Brian Callaghan.
Mabin suffers from schizo-affective disorder and has a history of inappropriate behaviour when he is unwell, though his case worker did not believe he was unwell at the time of this offence. He appears as an exuberant character and he does not read social cues well.
Defence counsel John Brandts-Giesen said Mabin accepted the verdict but believed he had not gone as far as the girl said. He put his actions down to being flamboyant, and his “demonstrative family upbringing”.
“He appears to understand that even on his interpretation of events, his actions were inappropriate, particularly between strangers,” said Mr Brandts-Giesen. “He accepts that a person should be able to ride in a bus with complete safety, and without the unwelcome attention of a complete stranger.”
Mabin said he had put his hand on the girl’s knee to get her attention because he wanted to have a conversation with her.
The girl’s account was that he sat beside her, tried to engage her in conversation, and then rubbed his hand on her upper thigh and the small of her back, over her clothing. She thought he then tried to put his hand inside her clothing, but he didn’t. He touched her on the inside of her thigh, over her clothing.
“She said she didn’t know what to do, which is consistent with her age and her maturity,” said Judge Callaghan. “She just pretended this wasn’t happening and kept looking out the window, as the security footage shows, confirming everything she said.”
Mabin said, “You are not keen?”
The girl replied, “No”, and shook her head.
“Fortunately, common sense took over and you stopped doing what you were doing,” the judge told Mabin. “Your defence had little or no merit. The complainant was seen as credible and reliable.”
The judge noted Mabin’s record included a conviction three years ago for doing an indecent act with intent to insult or offend.
He said Mabin now appeared to have learned his lesson.
Judge Callaghan released him on intensive supervision for 18 months, with special conditions, and ordered him to do 120 hours of community work.
Category: Focus
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