Rugby World Cup streaker back in court | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

The parents of a Rotorua teenager who got stuck on a roof in Whangamata two weeks after being sentenced for streaking across a pitch at a Rugby World Cup match are defending him.

Maurice Lorry Bryant appeared in the Waihi District Court this week and pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly behaviour, arising from an incident on December 30 when police and firefighters were called to get the 18-year-old down from the roof of the Whangamata surf lifesaving club.

It was the third time Bryant was involved in a high-profile incident.

Two weeks earlier he was discharged without conviction by a judge in the Rotorua District Court, after pleading guilty to going onto a playing surface at a major sporting event without authority.

He was drunk at the time and had stripped naked before running onto the field with an Irish flag draped over his shoulders at Rotorua International Stadium, during Ireland's clash with Russia on September 25.

Yesterday Bryant's mother Joanne Bryant told The Daily Post her son was a good boy and she and her husband Andrew were really proud of him in many ways.

"It's unfortunate that he has done some silly things. We are talking to him about his behaviour and hope that he has learnt some lessons from these incidents," Mrs Bryant said.

She wanted to apologise for the inconvenience her son had caused to the Whangamata emergency services.

Bryant was also among 12 teenagers involved in a van crash in July 2010 which killed Jesse Howe. He was not physically injured but Mrs Bryant said her son was affected emotionally as he and Jesse had been very good friends since the age of 10.

However, she did not think the crash had contributed to her son's behaviour in recent months.

Bryant appeared in the Waihi District Court this week and duty solicitor Mike Curtis said the teenager had phoned police to apologise and had tried unsuccessfully to contact the Whangamata fire brigade.

Ms Jensen said alcohol had clearly played a part in affecting Bryant's behaviour and he had been a nuisance for fire services and police staff during a busy time of year. She denied his request for name suppression.

"Your behaviour had an impact on rescue services' availability for other emergencies ... you need to ensure that you find a safe place to sleep," she said. Bryant replied that he was "just looking at the stars" and the fire service "must have thought I was asleep".

Ms Jensen said he should find somewhere else to sleep in future and deferred his sentence, placing him on a good behaviour bond for six months and ordering him to pay $133 court costs.

He apologised to the court, police and fire brigade for wasting their time. "It won't happen again," he said.

In relation to the streaking incident Bryant told police he did it because it was something he had always wanted to do.

After being body-slammed by security staff he spent the rest of the match wrapped in the flag in the back of a police van with the dubious honour of being the first person arrested under RWC legislation for streaking.

When Judge Lindsay Moore sentenced Bryant for the streaking incident he described the teenager's actions as a "dramatic piece of stupidity". Bryant was discharged without conviction.

Outside the Waihi District Court, an embarrassed Bryant tried to rush away when approached by media.

Asked if he could stay out of trouble for the next six months, Bryant blushed and tried to hide his face in his hands before responding: "um ... of course I will."

He then said he "wasn't that drunk - I only had about five or six beers".

- additional reporting APNZ