A Dunedin entertainment industry figure who paid a 15-year-old for sex can now be identified.
Michael McLeod, the former owner of iconic Dunedin pub The Captain Cook Hotel, has been jailed for two years and three months for contracting the minor for sex.
While sentencing McLeod in the Dunedin District Court on Wednesday, Judge David Robinson described the victim as extraordinarily vulnerable.
Prosecutor Zoe Kellam said there was an element of grooming as McLeod gave the victim methamphetamine, alcohol and vapes.
Supplying the victim drugs made her vulnerable and formed an ongoing pattern of exploitation, increasing her dependence and reducing her inhibitions, she said.
McLeod, who was 40 at the time of the offending, previously admitted to supplying methamphetamine and cannabis.
Robinson said McLeod's actions were "sickening and unconscionable" and he continued to see the victim even after he started to believe she was 16.
The contents of a victim impact statement was suppressed but Robinson said the impact on the victim was serious and ongoing.
The road to recovery would be long for her with many hurdles to overcome, he said.
McLeod's lawyer, Sarah Saunderson-Warner, said her client initially thought the victim was an adult and she was already involved in sex work.
McLeod was very remorseful and had undergone significant rehabilitation, Saunderson-Warner said.
He initially believed she was 18-years-old before later thinking she was 16, she said.
She was only 15 at the time.
Saunderson-Warner told the court her client engaged in sexual activity with the girl on two occasions before introducing methamphetamine into their liaisons.
During an interview with probation, McLeod claimed the offending spiralled out of a downturn in his business.
He had begun using methamphetamine and sex workers as he struggled to cope with personal demons, Saunderson-Warner said.
But he had since undergone counselling for alcohol and drug use, she said.
He was now focused on helping rather than harming, Saunderson-Warner said.
McLeod previously ran iconic Dunedin pub The Captain Cook Hotel.
It was renamed Dive in 2020 before it closed in 2023 after being served eviction notices.
Robinson said McLeod had replied to an advertisement for sexual services from an 18-year-old.
The victim was 15 and had been effectively coerced into sex work by a different man who plied her with drugs and encouraged her to sell drugs.
McLeod picked up the victim for the first time in April 2023.
The second time, he drove her to his bar, gave her a vape and vodka before they had sex on a couch in the backroom.
He gave her $500.
McLeod discovered she was not the person he had been in contact with and there was a third person involved. He then added her on Instagram so they could message directly.
They met up and he offered her methamphetamine, holding the pipe and lighting it for her to smoke.
That was how their liaisons continued over about five months.
Robinson said McLeod assumed the girl was 18, made no steps to check her age and continued to meet with her for sex after he came to believe she was 16.
Sometimes he gave her cannabis and methamphetamine, as well as paying her $450-$500 for sex.
Police were alerted and searched his Dunedin home in August 2024, discovering methamphetamine and a pipe as well as seizing and analysing his computer.
They found videos of sex acts with the victim including some she had sent.
They were saved in a folder bearing the victim's first name.
SHARE ME