Antonio Glen Castillano also known as Glenn Green appearing in Auckland District Court. Photo: Supplied / Stuff
The country's most prolific stalker Antonio Glen Castillano - also known as Glenn Green - has been sentenced to four years and two months imprisonment.
Castillano previously pled guilty to nine charges of criminal harassment, one charge of posting harmful digital communications and one charge of obtaining by deception.
That is on top of more than 200 previous convictions, spanning 30 years.
It comes on the day a petition signed by more than 20,000 people was presented to Parliament calling for tougher penalties for stalking.
Castillano was sentenced today for his latest harrasment of eight women.
The offending included bombarding women with friend requests and hateful messages on social media, sending some women videos of himself masturbating,and even slipping threatening messages underneath one women's door and taking photos of her in her apartment.
A charge of obtaining by deception relates to Castillano applying for a job seeker benefit under multiple false names and providing false accomodation documents.
One of the victims - who RNZ has chosen not to name - read out her victim impact statement in court.
She highlighted the mental toll the harassment had taken on her daily life, with Catsillano bombarding her with messages claiming she was a child molester, and also sending death threats.
"Every part of my fragile life was threatened by the messages I was being sent.
"The fear of being hunted down because I was being sold as a paedophile and groomer was very real.
"This period of my life has left me with lasting anxiety and fear for my safety."
Other victim impact statements read by Crown lawyer Conrad Purdon detailed one woman's fear to leave the house. Others said they only felt safe once they knew Castillano was in police custody.
Purdon stressed the seriousness of the offending, describing it as "a lengthy campagn of terror against women he had never met".
He said Castillano's previous offending needed to be reflected in the final sentence and the "overarching purpose of the sentencing should be the protection of the public."
"Mr Castillano has been before this court time and time again over the last 30 years, consistently committing the same offending.
"You and I can have no confidence whatsoever that he will be rehabilitated during his stay and that when he, when he gets out, he won't offend again, he almost certainly will."
Defence lawyer Steven Lack argued that a cultural report on Castillano's disrupted upbringing in state care, which was corroborated by family members, and his particapation in multiple rehabilation programmes should be considered.
Judge June Jelas accepted there had been some disruption in Castillano's upbringing.
"This really is one of the first opportunities Mr Castillano has had to recount his background and his upbringing so that it could be placed before the court for consideration at sentencing.
"Given his history in offending and a number of environmental factors present in Mr Castillano's upbringing which in my submission should be taken into account.
"I accept that his personal history has placed him at greater risk of entering the criminal justice system, Mr Castillano first came before the court in 1985 he has continually appeared in the court since that date."
But Jelas maintained public safety had to be prioritised, handing down a sentence of four years and two months imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice has committed to introducing a bill by the end of the year that would make stalking illegal.
Paul Goldsmith received a petition signed by more than 20,000 people at Parliament today, calling for the law change.
Goldsmith has previously said the coalition would do this by the end of the political term.
"There's been a lot of concern raised and a desire to get onto this faster... we think that there's something that we could do before the end of the year and I've, I've frankly told my officials to hurry up and do it as fast as we can."