Tamara Mati, who aspires to be a nurse, escapes conviction for posting sexually explicit images ‘censored’ with pumpkin emoji

The victim was left with a shattered sense of security and was now scared, anxious and distressed.

The anonymity of 22-year-old Mati ended during the sentencing. Nelson District Court This week.

The mother of two, who aims to start nursing training next year, will have a third child early next year.

This factored into Judge Rielly’s decision to dismiss Mati without a conviction for causing harm by publishing a digital communication.

“You have big dreams and are taking really positive steps to train in a profession that involves caring for others,” Judge Rielly said.

Mati initially denied the charge against him after posting photos three times over two days in March this year, but changed his plea to guilty following interviews with police.

Mati’s lawyer, Rosa Brooke, argued that he had at least censored the images by hiding the most explicit aspects.

police prosecutor Sergeant Daryl Fenemor said Mati had censored the images with “pumpkin emojis” but this did not lessen the impact on the victim and there was little hint from Mati’s apparent lack of remorse that it would not happen again.

Judge Rielly said that while it was suggested that the censored images made his actions less serious, he did not take into account that “significant parts of his body” could be seen.

“It also ignores the bad subtitles you added to increase emotional impact on a platform watched by many young people.”

Judge Rielly was concerned about the lack of insight into the level of harm caused by Mati.

“I’m concerned that you haven’t stopped for a moment to put yourself in his shoes,” Judge Rielly said.

He said Mati’s remorse appeared to stem solely from the situation in which he found himself before the court, and that the offer of emotional harm payment was self-serving to assist in a discharge without conviction.

Judge Rielly accepted the disturbing behavior of the young woman, who was known to many as “kind, compassionate, loving and forgiving” and who was also a good role model in her community.

“Miss Mati, this is one of the most difficult balancing acts a court has to do.

“We’re dealing with a young woman who is described as a very good person, successful in life, well supported, and has dreams, big dreams,” he said.

In assessing the potential consequences of the conviction, Judge Rielly deemed that it outweighed the gravity of the crime and ordered Mati to pay $1,500 in emotional harm compensation and order his release.

Judge Rielly said Mati contributed to the harm inflicted on others through the misuse of social media, which courts across the country deal with every day.

His last comment to Mati was that he never wanted to see him in court again.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter for NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional correspondent in Nelson-Marlborough and covered general news, including court and local government, for the Nelson Mail.