A top jockey who drunkenly indecently assaulted another man has lost a bid to escape conviction.
Through his lawyer Mark Sturm, jockey Matthew Cameron had applied for a discharge without conviction. Photo: Photosport / Alan Lee
Cameron and the victim were socialising with friends and drinking in a horse truck at a private Waikato property on 25 July, last year.
Neither the victim nor Cameron knew each other prior to the night and only met through the victim's girlfriend when they returned to the horse truck.
About 2am, the victim and his girlfriend went to bed, both sleeping in the lutin bed above the cab of the truck.
The couple were the first to head to bed in the horse truck in the early hours of the morning because of commitments they had later that day.
Slowly, everyone else went to sleep, and sometime between 2am and 6am the defendant got up onto the bed and lay next to the victim.
About 6am, the victim felt himself being indecently assaulted. Being half asleep and not fully conscious, he rolled away from Cameron.
However, less than a minute later the victim felt an arm come across his body and again be indecently assaulted.
"This time he looked down, looked at the hand and person, and realised it was the defendant who was responsible," court documents state.
The victim reacted immediately, yelling and screaming at Cameron who "very quickly" began moving away.
The reaction caused a commotion and others sleeping in the truck woke up.
Cameron meanwhile had reached the door of the truck and said he was grabbing his shoes and vape before quickly leaving.
When questioned by police, Cameron said due to the "excessive amount" of alcohol he drank the previous evening he could not recall what happened.
Cameron appeared for sentencing on a charge of indecent assault of a man over 16 before Judge Thomas Ingram in the Hamilton District Court today.
The victim has automatic name suppression.
Through his lawyer Mark Sturm, Cameron applied for a discharge without conviction, with Sturm citing the fact he was 35 and had never appeared before the court, and he was truly remorseful for what happened.
Cameron had since sought help from a psychologist but struggled to comprehend his offending due to his intoxicated state at the time and his inability to remember what happened.
"It's a source of real trouble for himself."
Cameron, who remains in a committed relationship with his partner, had also not had a drink in six months.
If he was convicted, it would see the end of the only career that his client had known since becoming a jockey aged 15, Sturm said.
"He doesn't have a fallback position in terms of life skills in terms of what he could do.
"It's a daunting prospect at age 35, the end of a career in a job he does very well.
"The consequences will be out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence."
A police prosecutor opposed the discharge and noted that since the offending, Cameron had still been able to work at racetracks.
It was submitted that even if convicted, Cameron could still apply for an exemption, but that decision about whether it was successful would lie with the New Zealand Racing Board.
Judge Ingram found the offending to be at the "lower moderate" level but said it was Cameron's persistence by grabbing the victim a second time that saw him fail his discharge.
"Offending of this level could never fall below community work.
"It's my view that this is not something that can be simply put to one side as being a minor, one-off transgression from a man with an excellent record.
"Your position of putting your hand back in there tips it into another category."
The judge accepted he might lose his job but he also had to take into account the victim's views, who wanted Cameron convicted.
While declining Cameron his discharge without conviction, and sentencing him to 90 hours' community work, Judge Ingram hoped the NZ Racing Board might take an interest in his positive comments about the jockey.
"I'm well aware that this will be a disappointing outcome for you... but of the many defendants that have come before me... you have been a particularly impressive individual.
"You have conducted yourself admirably in the way you have dealt with the career-threatening circumstances. In my assessment of your character, you are a man who can be trusted and relied upon.
"The racing industry will make its own judgment about an exemption but my assessment may be of interest to them... and might well be prepared to take a close look at retaining you because of your undoubted talents and ability."
Judge Ingram also ordered Cameron to pay emotional harm reparation to the victim of $900.
Cameron had been subject to interim name suppression but did not pursue a new application today.
When contacted, the victim's partner said they were pleased to hear Cameron was convicted as they hoped it would help protect others in the future.
"It's a hell of a lot better than we thought he'd get. We thought he would get away scot-free."
Asked about the judge's comments, the woman said Cameron was someone who she also used to talk highly of too, "he was a good person".
"It's more about in this profession ... and that he is not to be trusted.
"We wouldn't want him to walk and it goes and happens to someone else."
* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.