Auckland resident Ryan Prasad sentenced for lewd texts to strangers
A 25-year-old Auckland man, Ryan Prasad, was sentenced after pleading guilty to sending lewd messages and videos to women whose contact information he obtained through his work as a courier. The judge rejected his request for a discharge without conviction, citing the intrusive nature of his actions.
Why it matters
The case highlights issues regarding data privacy in the gig economy and the legal consequences of digital harassment.
A mother was at home with her baby last November when she received an unsettling text message from an unknown number. Then it got worse.
“Hey cute just wanted to say you looked really good in those black sport tights this morning x love seeing your thigh gap,” the stranger wrote, accompanied by emojis showing a drooling face and heart eyes.
The messages continued: first a photo of his penis, then a short video of him masturbating, followed by a final message with emojis of a watching eye and of what police would later describe as a “hand covering mouth chuckling emoji”.
The woman didn’t know it at the time, but she was one of several victims targeted with lewd messages by Onehunga resident Ryan Jack Shiri Prasad.
Like Prasad’s other victims, the messages left her shaken. And his bizarre explanation, a judge has noted, left his victims irate.
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