By Joanne Naish for Stuff…
Two men have escaped convictions for creeping under the cover of darkness and spraying anti-Semitic and homophobic slogans on an old church while the owner slept inside.
Four men were involved in the crime, however, the main offender may never be charged with a judge saying it was troubling police had not pursued it further.
Dillan Jay Pattinson, 20, and Zacharaiah David Burges-Short, 21, were discharged without conviction by Judge Quintin Hix for one charge each of intentional damage in the Greymouth District Court on Wednesday.
Judge Hix warned the men against becoming radicalised on the internet which he called a “dangerous place”.
The old church, painted bright pink and named Gloria in Blaketown, Greymouth, is owned by poet and artist Sam Duckor-Jones, who has said it is a public artwork and a “a temple of non-denominational queer celebration”.
Read the full story on Stuff here.
