David Nepia Carroll, aka David Palmer 12.30PM: Gay conman David Nepia Carroll was this morning described by a judge as a "recidivist" offender who is not in a position to pay any meaningful reparations to his victims. Nepia Carroll appeared in court this morning to enter guilty pleas to 76 charges arising from a crime spree earlier this year in which he visited gay homestays under a variety of persona and absconded without paying. The charges also state that he stole items ranging from small personal effects to several cars including a late model Audi. He also took cash and credit cards and illegally withdrew money from people's bank accounts. Reparations, if they could be paid, were agreed by the judge and Carroll's lawyer to amount to many tens of thousands of dollars. Judge Roy Wade advised Carroll's lawyer that a previous High Court finding means each of the 76 charges will need to be pleaded to personally and individually by the defendant. He held Carroll, who is known by several names including David or Samuel Palmer, over for sentencing in mid-April. The judge said there was no time in a busy court today to evaluate whether one sentence can be applied to the whole slew of charges. "This is going to take some judge a massive amount of time," he said. Wade also decided not to seek a reparation order report. "He owes his victims masses of money and is not in a position to pay it," he said. Even if Carroll could pay a modest sum, the judge observed, prioritising which of the many victims would get the small amount was not feasible. He did, however, order a pre-sentencing report and remanded Carroll in custody. Carroll, who appeared this morning looking relaxed has been in jail since his arrest in August. None of his victims was in court and his lawyer declined to comment after the hearing.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News
First published: Thursday, 10th January 2013 - 12:45pm