Nelson property owner jailed for 20 months after 'kidnapping' meter reader
By Tracy Neal, Open Justice reporter of
Paul Hogarty took the meter reader's car keys.
Photo:
123RF
A power company meter reader "kidnapped" by an aggressive property owner says the event has "projected a darkness on her everyday life".
The woman, in her 60s, was left terrified by the ordeal that occurred at a rural property near Nelson where she arrived to read the meter in June 2023.
She was confronted by the angry owner, Paul Hogarty, who took her car keys, which meant she was unable to leave the site.
While it was not heard in Nelson District Court how he managed to get the woman's keys, the court was told she was stuck in her car at the property for about 40 minutes as a result.
During that time, Hogarty had refused to give them back and kept making demands of her in a threatening and intimidating manner.
Today, Hogarty was sentenced to 20 months in prison on charges he denied, including kidnapping, after a jury found him guilty in January this year.
He represented himself at the trial with help from a court-appointed counsel and was also found guilty of unlawfully interfering with a motor vehicle, intimidation and resisting police.
The meter reader had gone to Hogarty's property on the afternoon of June 21.
It was a job she had done for many years, Judge Jo Rielly said.
After being threatened by Hogarty and having her keys taken off her, she remained in her vehicle because she was afraid of what might happen if she got out.
"The words you used to attack and intimidate her traumatised her," Judge Rielly said.
The woman told Hogarty she was calling the police but this did not appear to concern him.
Judge Rielly described him as someone with "very entrenched personal beliefs about the rights of people in society".
When the police arrived, Hogarty, a man in his 70s, then resisted being arrested.
"It was abundantly clear that the events were a great surprise to her and caused extreme distress," Judge Rielly said.
"She had no way of knowing what would happen to her."
Judge Rielly said the victim now suffered extreme anxiety, and felt that Hogarty had taken away her right to feel safe.
She now dreaded going to work and had suffered financially as a result.
Reading from the woman's victim impact statement, Judge Rielly said the victim wanted Hogarty to know, and believe, that what he had done was unacceptable.
Judge Rielly said that some of what Hogarty said at his trial implied that he regretted his actions, even though he had not expressed that directly.
She agreed with the Crown on a two-year prison starting point on the lead charge of kidnapping.
Hogarty was granted a four-month credit for his personal circumstances, which included a lack of any previous convictions, resulting in a sentence of 20 months in prison.
He was granted leave to apply for a substituted sentence of home detention if he chose to put forward an address.
Judge Rielly said it was sad she had little choice but to sentence a man of Hogarty's age to a term of imprisonment because he failed to co-operate with the court process.
She said the Crown had made it clear early on that it was not opposed to an alternative sentence, and that an electronically monitored sentence would sufficiently reflect the gravity of the offending.
Judge Rielly said that had always been her preference.
However, Hogarty had made it clear on "more than one occasion" that he would not provide an address.
"I have tried to reason with you about that but you have maintained throughout that you do not consent to providing an address so it leaves me no alternative but to sentence you to 20 months in prison," Judge Rielly said.
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This story originally appeared in the
New Zealand Herald
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