Evan Harding16:00, Jul 08 2021
Robyn Edie/Stuff
Christiaan Paul Veldwijk, 44, was sentenced to home detention for two indecent assault charges in late 2019 when he appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Thursday.
A man convicted of indecent assault has shown a pattern of behaviour which is escalating, a judge says. Christiaan Paul Veldwijk, 44, appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Thursday and was sentenced to eight months’ home detention and ordered to pay a $500 emotional harm payment, having earlier admitted two charges of indecent assault on a female in late 2019. Judge Alison McLeod, referring to a pre-sentence report about Veldwijk, said his offending was related to sexual arousal and it appeared to be escalating given “two relevant prior convictions of indecent acts”, in 2010 and 2016.
They had an argument, Lake went into the master bedroom and sprayed the bed with aerosol deodorant. Lake lit it with a cigarette lighter resulting in ignition with the inner sprung mattress of the bed,” Stratford said. The mattress and bedding caught fire, an area about 40 centimetres by 15cm, exposing the inner hollow of the mattress. In the immediate area were layers of bedding, and nearby were curtains, exposed wallpaper and wooden joinery, flooring and furniture, Stratford said. The defendant s sons entered the room and raised the alarm. Lake tried to put out the fire which was ultimately extinguished by the victim.