Former Power Rangers actor Rene Naufahu will be under house arrest after pleading guilty to charges of indecent assault.
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Naufahu, who previously played roles in Power Rangers S.P.D. and Samurai, pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault in the Auckland District Court. The encounters took place between 2011 and 2013 during acting classes that Naufahu was running and involved six of the students in the classes (via Stuff.co).
Naufahu would invite them to one on one sessions geared towards acting exercises, but in several cases, those sessions included trying to kiss them without warning, as well as attempts to touch their breasts and in between their legs. He would tell them the exercises would make them better actors, telling one woman she was making “amazing progress” after forcibly putting his tongue in her mouth.
“You defended your actions by telling the woman she had to get into the meaning of the scene,” Judge Ronayne said.
Afterwards, he would tell the women not to tell anyone about the one on one sessions. Originally he denied the allegations, but eventually pleaded guilty, though the Judge said he was still trying to put some blame on the victims.
“You are the guilty one, not them. It was you who breached their trust,” Ronayne said. “….You publicly shamed the victims by denying the offending.”
You can read Naufahu’s full statement below.
“I am relieved that this prosecution is now behind the complainants and myself. We can all now move forward and heal, where this is required. That is what I want for all of us. I couldn’t be clearer about that.
To say this prosecution has been a brutal learning curve, one that has caused me to assess my past professional and personal conduct, would be an understatement. But I now realize that my behavior at that time wasn’t always professional and appropriate, even though then I thought it was.
I realize that I did act inappropriately and failed to consider and fully understand what I was doing, why and the impact on those affected. I let my professional passion for the art of acting became personal and the lines between the two became blurred and my conduct at times with some students became unprofessional and wrong.
I can see that now how my conduct has impacted on the complainants. While I formed personal feelings, clearly they didn’t and felt that I had abused my role as their acting coach, which accept that I did. I failed to protect them and ensure that they felt safe with the conduct that took place in the classes.
For a long while after I was charged and had to confront my behavior, my passion for acting disappeared. However, I have worked through this and I am pleased that it has returned. However, the lessons learnt through this phase of my life will not be forgotten and I will ensure that everyone that I work with are at all times safe and feel safe.
None of us are perfect and there is always room for growth. I have made mistakes and I have learnt from them.
I would like to thank the many who have supported me and shown me love in return for the love and time I have committed to them over the years. That has been truly humbling and helped me through this personal journey.”
