Two young girls out for an evening jog last winter were left terrified by a man who followed them, made a “vulgar gesture” and then invited them into his car.

Aaron Daniel Fahey pulled up alongside them in his black ute and told the girls they were beautiful while at the same time making an indecent gesture at them.

The girls were aged 11 and 13, police said.

Fahey was convicted and fined in the Nelson District Court this week on a charge of doing an indecent act after the incident in suburban Nelson last August.

His behaviour, which included following the girls, frightened them to the extent that the younger girl began to cry.

The 30-year-old understood it was “disgraceful behaviour” and claimed he mistook one of the girls for someone he knew.

Fahey’s lawyer Ian Miller said that did not change what he had done, and the victim impact statements showed the extent to which the girls had been afraid, and the impact on their families.

“He can’t say much more than he’s very remorseful and apologetic,” Miller said.

Police prosecutor Rebecca Terry said the police wanted to highlight that it happened at a time in the evening when it was dark, the victims were young, alone and vulnerable, and were approached by Fahey, who invited them into his vehicle while gesturing at them.

It was around 6pm on August 10 last year when the two girls set off for a run in the suburb on the outskirts of Nelson City.

The police said they soon noticed a man in a black ute was following them. The older of the two pulled out her phone and began recording him.

Fahey drove past, parked and stared at them. The girls then ran away but Fahey did a U-turn and followed them again, caught up and slowed then made the “vulgar gesture” towards them, the summary of facts said.

The girls then ran towards home. Fahey followed them again, stopped the vehicle beside them and asked if they would like a ride, and told them they were beautiful.

The younger girl began to cry in fear, before they both ran off in the opposite direction to home, through fear that Fahey would find out where they lived.

Judge Tony Snell noted the charge carried a maximum two-year prison sentence. He said Fahey had tried to have it dismissed through there being no case to answer, but had ultimately accepted responsibility.

Miller had argued earlier that what happened was offensive but not indecent.

Judge Snell acknowledged the victims had been left “extremely fearful and frightened”, but accepted Miller’s claim that Fahey, who had no previous convictions, had made an error in that he thought the girls were “much older”.

Taking into account the legal process around settling on the charge, Judge Snell accepted Fahey had entered a guilty plea early.

He said while “nothing happened” other than what was in the summary of facts, and Fahey had made no effort to get out of the car, it was important that he was sentenced on what was alleged, Judge Snell said.

He said it was a “significant error of judgment” unlikely to be repeated, but added that it was “utterly inappropriate” for a 30-year-old man to behave in the manner he did with an 11- and 13-year-old.

Judge Snell said Fahey’s offer to pay the victims emotional harm reparation was the appropriate way to show his remorse.

He was convicted and fined $800 and ordered to pay each victim $600.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.