Subj : Destiny Church member admits vandalising rainbow crossing
To   : All
From : News
Date : Mon Apr 15 2024 12:17 pm

A man charged with vandalising a Rainbow crossing on Auckland's Karangahape
Rd has pleaded guilty and has been ordered to pay about $16,000 in
reparations.


The pedestrian crossing was covered in white paint more than two weeks ago,
just days after the rainbow crossing in Gisborne was vandalised.


Ford O'Connor, 31, appeared at the Auckland District Court this morning and
entered a guilty plea.


Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki addressed the media outside earlier,
saying O'Connor was married to his granddaughter and was a member of the
church.


Community magistrate Jan Holmes said she gave credit to the accused for the
early plea and his willingness to pay the approximate $16,000 for cleaning
the crossing.


No further penalties were imposed and O'Connor was discharged without
conviction.


Prior to the man's arrest, police had said they were treating the vandalism
as a hate crime.


Hate crimes, while recorded by police, are not stand alone offences but are
seen as a motivating factor.


Police's working definition of a 'hate crime' is as any offence that is
perceived, by the victim or by any other person, to be motivate by hostility
or prejudice based on a person's characteristic.


This can be race, religion, sexual orientation, gender/transgender identity,
disability, or age.


Last week Auckland Pride called for a restorative justice approach to the
offending, focusing on repairing relationships between victims, offenders,
and the community while at the same time keeping considerations of justice in
mind.


Co-chairperson Quack Pirihi said solutions were needed that protected
communities and built an equitable Aotearoa.


Politicians from National, ACT and the Green Party have criticised the
vandalism.


'It was one of my family members'
"I was not initially aware the protest had occurred until I saw it on the AM
show the following morning, but I suspected it could be one of the Destiny
Church members," Brian Tamaki said.


"Turns out, it was one of my family members."


Tamaki said the painting over of the crossing was not a hate crime.


He said he supported O'Connor's act of protest against what he called
"rainbow washing" at the taxpayer's expense.


Tamaki said the rainbow crossings were onfusing to pedestrians and drivers,
and are "not right and not normal".

Destiny Church will continue protesting in "multiple places" until the
Government take notice and "put an end to this madness", he said.


rnz.co.nz

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