Warning: This article contains graphic details and images, and discusses sexual misconduct.
A Palmerston North man who pleaded guilty to stealing and spitting in women's shoes has been discharged without conviction.
Malachai Wylie appeared in the Palmerston North District Court on Wednesday a month after pleading guilty to two counts of offensive behaviour and one of theft.
Newshub revealed in May Wylie was allegedly stealing shoes from his co-workers at Number One Shoes in Palmerston North, defiling them by spitting or ejaculating into them and then posting pictures of the shoes on a fetish site.
A summary of facts from police showed Wylie had stolen the insoles from the shoes of a female customer who had entered the Number One Shoes shop and ran out of time to replace them in her shoes.
He took the insoles home and later performed a sexual act on them.
He also admitted to spitting into shoes two female customers had taken off in-store and photographing them, later posting the photos onto the fetish site.
Both female customers put the shoes on, with Wylie's spit inside them, and left the store.
While studying to be a secondary school teacher at Massey University in Palmerston North last year, Wylie also worked as a student teacher in Manawatu high schools - some girls have told Newshub they were targeted by Facebook profiles they believe Wylie was behind.
In response to the allegations, the Ministry of Education sent out a traumatic incidents team to counsel those who may have been impacted.
In his ruling on Wednesday Judge Russell Collins said Wylie had been "at a low point" in his life at the time of the offending, and had recognised he needed help, approaching sexual harm prevention service Wellstop.
"Tragically for you mental health services in this country were under immense stress and weren't able to help," said Collins.
"By the time you were at the top of the list and could have been helped this offending intervened."
Collins continued that as no victims were ever formally identified, any conviction for Wylie would have a more severe impact on him.
"There is no identified victim, there is no victim that knows they were indirectly a victim of your offending. That doesn't make it any less serious but must be brought into consideration when considering the gravity of the offending."
Collins said Wylie had "great potential" having risen above childhood adversity and achieved well in school, and that any charge would "greatly impact [Wiley's] ability to reach that potential."
He acknowledged Wiley has a fetish disorder, but says he has taken steps to improve himself.
"You know that and you've said that and have taken steps to address [the fetish]. You have to approach those challenges in the most healthy mindset possible."
When considering how media coverage had impacted Wiley's life, Judge Collins said the suffering he had experienced far outweighed any judicial punishment he could receive, and in order to improve himself he should be discharged without conviction.
One of the victim's of Wylie's alleged Facebook fetish pages, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Newshub she feels justice has not been served, and is disappointed at the lack of charges.
"I can appreciate that being named and having his image published would have been stressful for Malachai, and I can see how his offending was linked to a decline in his mental health," the woman told Newshub.
"I know he'll have to live with that shame for the rest of his life, and I think that is certainly a massive punishment in itself. However, regardless of his mental state, he must have known how deceitful and manipulative he was when he approached women and girls asking for these images, and his mental health can't be used as an excuse."
She says she hopes Wiley gets the help he needs, and hopes there would be "more significant" punishment if he was to offend again.
